Ice Prince
by Mrpointyhorns
Summary: Sharpay and Ryan try out for the figure skating show. Ryan catches the eye of the ice hockey’s captain, but is he as really charming as he seems. Troy starts asks questions when he realizes that he might be jealous. Eventually Tryan
1. Chapter 1

Title: Ice Prince

Author: Mrpointyhorns aka Blemery

Author's Email: M

Status: WIP

Part: 1/?

Pairings: Eventually Troy/Ryan, starts with Troy/Gabby and Ryan/OC

Warnings: Slash, Tryan, abusive relationship

Spoilers: None.

Summary: Sharpay and Ryan try out for the figure skating show. Ryan catches the eye of the ice hockey's captain, but is he as really charming as he seems. Troy starts to ask questions when he realizes that he might be jealous.

Beta: Phoenixdreams

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by Disney. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

--

Chapter 1

--

Ryan carefully laced up his ice skates. Beside him was his sister and ice skating partner, Sharpay. They were trying out for the ice dancing performance. It was Sharpay's new threat. After last year's musical fiasco she decided that she needed another talent to add to her resume.

She and Ryan had taken ice skating lessons until they started High School. Then it had been all plays and musicals, but not anymore.

Ryan did not mind the new sport. Sharpay allowed him to choreograph their number. He spent the first month and a half of school planning and practicing for the tryouts. He was really excited.

The ice dancing team was an intramural but most of the people trying out went to their school. The team would perform their partner or solo numbers along with several group numbers at the show in December. Also they would be allowed to compete their numbers against other ice skating teens.

The best part about the ice skating team was that Ryan could still spend time with Troy, Gabby, and his other friends he had made over the summer. The show would be in December which meant that he and Sharpay would be able to tryout for the new high school's musical. And come spring, Ryan wanted to tryout for the baseball team.

With all of his activities and his new friends Ryan knewthis year would be very full. He also knew that it would be one of the best years of his life. For the first time in a long time he had true friends, other then his sister. It made him feel extremely grateful that Troy and Gabby tried out for the musical last year.

Sharpay stiffened on the bench beside him. The blond looked up from his skates, shaken from his thoughts. He followed his sister's gaze onto the ice. She was watching the pair trying out before them. It was obvious right away that the two skaters were very good.

The girl was Rebecca and she was the school's best ice skater. The boy was the captain of the ice hockey team, Jack. Ryan had to believe that Jack was only trying out for the ice skating show because Troy had tried out for the high school's musical last year. Normally a guy like Jack would not want to be caught doing something that might be considered girly.

"They're good," Sharpay said. She was sizing up the competition, as always.

"Sharpay, we're not going against them. The tryouts are to make sure we know how to skate. That is it." Ryan reminded her sister even though she probably was not listening to him.

Ryan picked up his microphone clip. It hooked around Ryan's ear and rested at the corner of his mouth. This way he could sing hands free during their dance. He would need his hands for picking up Sharpay. None of the other ice skaters were singing and that was something they held over the competition.

The twins continued to watch the pair though their entire number. Then it was their turn. Ryan thought that they could do better they had. Jack and Rebecca focused most of their number on her skill and his ability to lift her up. Ryan knew that he was a better skater then Jack. He and Sharpay together had to be better then the both of them. Also Ryan believed that their number was more entertaining.

Their number was three minutes long. They had a combination of jumps, spins, and lifts. Ryan was even able to throw Sharpay into a jump which was quite impressive. He could also spin and jump in both a counterclockwise and clockwise direction. He had never known that it was unusual to do this until he was already too used to spinning and jumping in both directions. It was incredibly impressive because he could reverse his spins and jumps to Sharpay's. Ryan showed off at the end by doing a backflip on the ice, and he also did the splits. They set their number to an upbeat song, that they could dance to and have fun with.

When they finally left the ice they were panting and heated from the exertion. There was one more pair trying out after them. The twins watched as they caught their own breath. The new pair was cute but they were not as good as the other two pairs.

Then the coach called the three pairs and the three solo skaters together. "From what I saw all of you did a great job. You're not all amazing but I like the range of level we have. Check your emails for rehearsals. Everyone will perform their number that I just saw at the show. I will also choreograph a number for the boys, for the girls and for the group. The show will take place on the second weekend of December. In November I will allow you to sign up for the Veteran's Day competition. This is not required, but winners will get scholarships so I do encourage you to work hard." Coach Eleanor said. "Practices start tomorrow."

Ryan could see Sharpay's disappointment. She was always competitive and he knew that she was hoping to be crowned the best of them all. He however was not disappointed. He knewwhat the tryouts were for and he was not going to dwell on being the best.

He and his sister headed home in almost silence. He could tell that she was deciding on how to improve her skills. It was a quality that could both serveto further her and to hold her back. She could never move on; she had to dwell on everything unlessshe was the best. Ryan was glad that she was starting to notice that this determination as a fault. Although, she would not consider Troy and the others as good friends, their influence was rubbing off on her as well.

For Ryan the changes in him were just as subtle. He had always considered himself a people person and he was always friendly, but that never changed the fact that he never had any real friends. He had Sharpay and he considered her a good friend, but he always believed it was because they were family.

It was never like he did not want any friends; he just always had trouble making them. He was always over looked. He knew if he tried out for American Idol Simon would likely call him forgettable and it was true. Then when he was noticed it was always because he was doing something abnormal, like playing with girls, or taking an interest in singing and not in sports. Even his own parents would be hard pressed to remember his Little League days.

For this reason it was probably no surprise to anyone when he came out to his family. He almost wished they had reacted badly to his sexuality. But it was just another thing that made him abnormal, but because it was expected it was easily forgotten.

Since the summer, since last year really Ryan was starting to get noticed. At first as an antagonist to a romance that shocked the school, but then as someone who was actually pretty cool. Although he could not say that all of Troy and Gabby's friends were now his, he did know that he had made at least two. Also, instead of being remembered for abnormal things he was now sometimes remembered for his pitching arm, his good nature, and his hat collection **-** the latter may actually be abnormal.

Even though it was sometimes hard to admit, Ryan was really grateful for the friendships he had gained over the summer. He was hoping they would only grow during his senior year.

Once he arrived home he hurried to check his email about practices for the ice skating performance. All of the pair and solo performers had different time slots to practice their numbers on Saturday. During the week the days would alternate practices for the group numbers. Tomorrow would be the first practice for the boys' routine. As Ryan closed down his computer he felt a little flutter of excitement in his gut. He really felt like this year was going to be the best one ever.


	2. Chapter 2

Title: Ice Prince

Author: Mrpointyhorns aka Blemery

Author's Email: M

Status: WIP

Part: 2/?

Pairings: Eventually Troy/Ryan, starts with Troy/Gabby and Ryan/OC

Warnings: Slash, Tryan, abusive relationship

Spoilers: None.

Summary: Sharpay and Ryan try out for the figure skating show. Ryan catches the eye of the ice hockey's captain, but is he as really charming as he seems. Troy starts to ask questions when he realizes that he might be jealous.

Beta: Phoenixdreams

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by Disney. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

--

Chapter 2

--

Summer was slowly becoming a distant memory for Troy Bolton. While it was happening it had felt so fresh and everything he did or did not do had been such a big deal. Now that it was mid-October Troy realized that the things he had put importance in seemed so petty to him now. He really wished that he had spent more time having fun with his friends instead of worrying about the future.

He vowed that this year he was going to have fun. He was still going to work hard and try to get into the university, but he knew that there was nothing wrong with going to a community college for a year or two until he had enough money to go to a university. He hoped however that he could go straight to the university.

So far he had been doing a good job about keeping his vow. He was on the golf team this fall. He had a small part-time job. He worked on Saturday and Sunday during the day, but the nights were all his.

He spent his weekend nights usually with Gabby, but sometimes he would get together with the other Wildcats and hang out with the boys. He tried to split his time evenly. Both Gabby and Chad understood when Troy chose to hang out with one of them over the other.

Another friend that Troy never thought he would make was Ryan Evans. He only really hung out with him at school. Ryan was usually too busy to hang out on the weekends, but occasionally he would join the Wildcats at their parties. All the same, he enjoyed his new friend, even if they only spend time together at school.

What bothered him was that he had no idea about Ryan and Sharpay's tryout. He could almost swear that Ryan had told him about it but he could not remember. Luckily for him, Gabby did.

"How was your tryout, Ryan?" Gabby asked at lunch. She was chewing on a carrot stick.

"Oh great. It went really well. I have practice today after school," Ryan smiled at Gabby. The blond was sitting across the table from Troy and Gabby, the rest of their friends all sat around them making small talk.

"Tryout?" Troy frowned. He wished that he knew what they were talking about. He also wished that Gabby and Ryan would not flirt in front of him.

"Yeah, Sharpay and I tried out for the ice skating show yesterday. We ice skated when we were younger. We were a little rusty but we did pretty well." Ryan explained. He smiled proudly.

Chad snorted dropping in on the conversation, "Don't get any ideas Troy. Having you sing was bad enough, but seeing you figure skate that's where I draw the line."

"I wasn't going to tryout, but what's wrong with ice skating," Troy frowned at Chad. He loved his friend but sometimes he was too judgmental.

"Nothing," Chad said with a little shrug, "For Ryan. But you're playing golf this season remember."

Troy nodded although by the looks Chad received he could not believe that Chad had originally meant that. Troy turned back to Ryan, "You'll have to tell us when your show is. We could all go to watch you."

Ryan smiled. He ignored Chad's comments. He maybe stereotypical but this time he was right. He liked singing, dancing, and ice skating, and he was also gay. He had not officially come out, to anyone at school, but he was sure some people could tell, others refused to believe anything until Ryan said so.

"The performance is in December, so not for a while. I'll tell you what day it is when the date is closer." Ryan explained. He let his smile grow and added mostly to Chad, "Jack, the ice hockey team's captain is performing too! I think he might have had the courage to try out for ice skating because Troy tried out for the musical last year."

Chad raised an eyebrow but said nothing. Troy smiled however. He felt so good that someone was able to be true to who they were because Troy had been true to his self. "That's great. I don't even talk to Jack. Was he any good?"

"Not as good as me," Ryan smiled, "But he was pretty good. Today the guys get together to practice our group number, so I get to see him up close. I'm pretty excited. I haven't done something new like this in a long time."

"You and Jack are skating together. Anyone else?" Gabby asked. She did not seem as interested as Troy or Chad but she was trying to be a good friend.

"Yeah, one other guy; most of the skaters are girls. So there are only three guys. He's not from our school," Ryan explained. He then pulled out his math assignment. Ever since he became friends with the rest of them his grades were improving, because he had been checking his work with Gabby's.

Troy was a little disappointed that the conversation had changed. He had done his homework with his girlfriend so he did not need to check his work. He tried tuning into Chad and Jason's conversation, but he could not stop think about what Ryan had said.

Jack had tried out for ice skating, maybe because of him. That was pretty awesome, but something bothered him and Troy could not figure out what it was. He knew what bothered him had to do with how Ryan had answered his question, but he could not put his finger on it.

With a soft sigh he repressed the feeling hoping to think about it later. He finally tuned into Jason who was talking about golf practice. After a few minutes Troy was able to slip in his comments and suggestions.

He kept glancing over at Ryan and Gabby who were working on homework together. He still did not like seeing them act so friendly. He was pretty sure that Ryan did not have feelings for Gabby anymore, if at all, but it still bothered him to see.

Gabby made Ryan smile so much. He had never seen Ryan smile that way for anyone before, not even Ryan's sister. It annoyed Troy. Still he did not say anything, after all they were only working on homework, and he was just being irrational.

He could tell that this year was going to be an interesting year. The mixed emotions he got when he looked at Gabby and Ryan, along with this new feeling he had about Ryan ice skating, and trying to balance his friends and work schedule was going to be tough. He also knew that it was going to be great. For the first year he was going to be who he truly was. The real Troy Bolton. He could not wait.


	3. Chapter 3

Title: Ice Prince

Author: Mrpointyhorns aka Blemery

Author's Email: M

Status: WIP

Part: 2/?

Pairings: Eventually Troy/Ryan, starts with Troy/Gabby and Ryan/OC

Warnings: Slash, Tryan, abusive relationship

Spoilers: None.

Summary: Sharpay and Ryan try out for the figure skating show. Ryan catches the eye of the ice hockey's captain, but is he as really charming as he seems. Troy starts to ask questions when he realizes that he might be jealous.

Beta: Phoenixdreams

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by Disney. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

--

Chapter 3

--

Ryan arrived at the ice rink a little bit early, but he did not feel bad. The other male skaters were also there. Jack and Mike were stretching and putting on their skates. Ryan hurried over to do the same. The two boys acknowledged him but did not say anything. It was always awkward when a new team was formed whether it was for ice skating, or basketball.

He stretched his legs, and his arms, but Ryan was careful not to pull anything. It was not always wise to stretch before warming up. Ryan then put on his skates. He wanted to get a few laps in before practiced started.

Just when he was getting on the ice however, Ryan and the other boys were stopped. Music began to play from the other side of the rink. The music had a country twang and was fast paced. Even though Ryan did not listen to that type of music, he was sure he had heard the song before. It was not a bad song. He wondered if this was the song for their number. It was perfect for three guys. It was easy to do turns and spins too, and fast pace enough not to look to girly.

The boys looked up to see their instructor. She had a CD player on a chair at her end of the ice rink. She waved to them and the three boys hurried over. "Hey guys. I'm glad you got here early. When I saw you three perform yesterday I knew right away what I was going to do with you. You like the song?"

"Rodeo song," Mike shrugged. He thought it was fun. "Are we going to dress up in hats and spurs?"

"Oh good idea," Coach Smite smiled at Mike. The two other boys smiled. Ryan actually thought it was a very good idea. New Mexico was known for its rich cowboy history. The real kind, that raised cattle. "Let's get you warmed up. Do some laps boys."

The boys did so without complaining. For Jack the warm-up was nothing like his hockey warm-ups. For Mike and Ryan they were simple exercises and they felt very little strain. But as the practiced continued they realized that this was not an easy number. There were more tricks in a number like this because of how fast paced the music was. Also, there was a considerable amount of footwork. Coach Smite did not even teach them their moves. During the entire practice all she did was coach them on different jumps, turns, and moves that she wanted them to be able to perform. She said there was no use in teaching them the choreography if they could not perform certain turns or jumps.

By the time the practice was over, two hours later, the boys were sweaty and exhausted. The boys left the ice with hardly a word to each other. They took off their skates and received copies of, 'Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy,' the song that they would be performing too.

Ryan left the ice rink ready to go home and just crash. He hoped his homework could do itself otherwise it just was not going to get done.

"Ryan, hey!" Jack called after him catching up with the blond. He pushed his own darker hair behind his ears. "I was thinking we could grab something to eat."

"As in the three of us?" Ryan asked. He already knew the answer, however, as he had just seen Mikeleave.

Jack smiled shaking his head, no. "Is it okay? I mean, you can say no and I would not feel offended."

Ryan shrugged a little. He had a funny feeling that this was not just a friendly question. He had to fight back the smile about to spread across his face. He agreed to go get something to eat with Jack.

Jack turned out to be a really cool guy. They went to a little diner and Jack even ended up paying, as it had been his idea. He told Ryan that he agreed to join the ice skating team in hopes of meeting new people, but the truth was he always enjoyed ice skating. He had even performed a little bit when he was younger before he became too worried about what his friends would think. It only conformed what Ryan had thought. Jack's courage was probably because of Troy's. If anyone questioned him he could always point at Troy and say he started it.

The hockey captain was also very funny. He was always saying little things to make Ryan laugh or smile. After a while the blond could tell that Jack was trying really hard to impress him. He did not know if Jack treated all of his friends like this or if this was something special. So he decided to ask.

He flushed a little looking down at his nearly finished meal. He licked his lips in a worried gesture. "Jack, I have to ask, I know this might be a little forward and don't take this the wrong way, but are you hitting on me?"

"What because a guy goes from playing hockey to figure skating it makes him gay?" Jack raised a brow, but otherwise his expression was light-hearted. It was obvious that he was just joking with Ryan.

The blond countered Jack's words with his own, "Yeah well try going from performing in musicals to figure skating, and then talk to me about the stereotyping."

Jack laughed lightly. He knew there were way too many rumors about Ryan already. Everyone did, and if they did not it was simply because they did not want to hear them. "The answer is yes, by the way."

Ryan nodded at Jack's delayed reply. A moment later and Ryan was red. He had been right, Jack was flirting with him. It was nice to be flirted with and noticed like that. Even though Ryan had known he was gay since he was a baby, he still had not had a serious relationship with any guy. Also the only crushes he had were on celebrities, or the occasional teacher, unreachable people. It was only natural to have crushes on people that were out of reach. At Ryan's age it was hard to believe that anyone would be interested in him, especially another teenage male. So looking at adults and celebrities as potential mates was easier then looking at other teens.

For the first time Ryan was able to relax and really look at another person as a possible partner. Although he had been doing it subconsciously at the tryouts, now he could finally look at Jack.

He pretended to drink his soda as he looked Jack over. He was not unattractive. He had a mixture of blond and brown hair, more of a light brown then dirty blond. He had dark eyes, although Ryan could not tell what color. He was obviously well-toned but not overly so, this observation mostly from what he remembered at practice. He made Ryan laugh and smile. All in all Ryan would not be opposed to trying things out with Jack.

He was not going to admit that quite yet. In high school most teens fell in and out of relationships rather quickly. But after seeing Troy and Gabby take months to become official Ryan liked the idea of waiting. Although he thought that a couple of months was going overboard, Ryan wanted to spend time getting to know Jack as an individual before he tried to get to know them as a couple.

Ryan pushed his finished plate to the side so the waitress could pick it up. He then gave Jack a pointed look. "Well keep that up and maybe we'll have something to talk about."

Jack smiled a little knowing smile and paid for the meal. Then he walked Ryan home. Ryan felt overwhelmed by his bold moves. He wanted to tell someone, Sharpay was his first thought, but he knew she was not reliable when it came to secrets and blackmail. So instead he hurried up to his room in order to write it on his internet blog. He made sure to keep the entry private. When he was ready to come out then he would open the blog to his friends, but until then he just needed a place to express what he was feeling. He hoped that day would come soon.


	4. Chapter 4

Title: Ice Prince

Title: Ice Prince 

Author: Mrpointyhorns aka Blemery

Author's Email: 

Rating: M

Status: WIP

Part: 4/?

Pairings: Eventually Troy/Ryan, starts with Troy/Gabby and Ryan/OC

Warnings: Slash, Tryan, abusive relationship

Spoilers: None.

Summary: Sharpay and Ryan try out for the figure skating show. Ryan catches the eye of the ice hockey's captain, but is he as really charming as he seems. Troy starts to ask questions when he realizes that he might be jealous.

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by Disney. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

Chapter 4

Troy stole the ball from Zeke. He dribbled it back to his side of the court. He, Zeke, Chad, and Jason were playing a game of two-on-two. He and Jason were on one team. They were winning by just four points. 

It was early November, but despite this the four boys were shirtless. It was chilly outside but Troy was panting and sweating. They had already been playing for an hour, and the game was just a pick up one. Something they decided to do to pass the time that Friday night. 

It was exhilarating playing ball for the love of the game. Troy and his friends were on fire, and if anyone saw them now they would realize why the Wildcats were the best in the state. 

Troy made a two-pointer, before slowing down. Wordlessly the guys decided that it was time for a water break. They sucked down their bottles of water and stood around trying to even out their collective breath.

"Want to change up the teams?" Chad asked. It was not the fact that he hated losing that he wanted to change teams, but changing teams just seemed to add just a bit of a challenge to it all.

Troy shrugged looking at Jason. The other boy shrugged, he did not care if he was traded mid-game.

"Hey guys," The four boys startled looking over at Ryan who was approaching the basketball court. He usually did not come over to this side of town on the weekends if at all.

"Hey Ryan," Chad waved to the blond. "You don't have practice tonight?"

"Nope, girls practice tonight," Ryan stopped in front of the guys. "I'd ask what's up, but I think I can tell."

"We're just playing a two-on-two game," Troy said. He pushed his hair back from his forehead. "What's up with you?"

"Well, I wanted to talk to you guys," Ryan shrugged slightly. He looked at the ground toeing it softly. "I already spoke with Gabby and the other girls, but I wanted to tell you guys too, before you hear it somewhere else."

Ryan drifted off. Troy looked over at his friends a little confused. Although they 'talked' probably more then straight guys should, they usually did not approach it in this fashion. Chad had a knowing grin on his face, but the other guys just looked ready to listen. Troy turned back to Ryan, "Go on."

Ryan nodded for a second not taking his eyes off the ground. Then he raised them looking at each of the guys pointedly. "Well, the truth is, I am gay. I like guys." He clarified.

"Like all the time?" Troy asked a little dumbfounded. He was one of the few that refused to listen to rumors.

"Yeah, well, I mean, I'm sure there is some girl out there that I might consider attractive, but all the time mostly." Ryan forced half a smile. He waited for a reaction before he made up his mind on what to do.

Chad smiled even more turning to Jason. "You owe me ten bucks." Then he turned to Zeke and added, "You owe me fifteen bucks."

"You bet on my sex life?" Ryan raised a brow but he did not seem put-off.

"Well actually just which way you swung," Jason said handing Chad a crisp ten. 

Zeke handed over his money, "I bet on when you were going to come out. I had after December." 

Ryan chuckled a little about the last one. He could tell by their reaction that the guys were not upset about his sexuality. 

Troy gaped at his friends. He sort of looked like a fish out of water. He shook himself from his stupor. "I can't believe you guys. Ryan has just told us something important and you-just think it's funny?"

Chad rolled his eyes, "Don't be so dramatic Troy. Being gay is not that big of deal, besides my gaydar is fantastic so I knew it was coming."

"Well, I didn't. This is incredible Ryan. How did you know? When did you find out? Are you scared? If anyone gives you a hard time tell us okay?" Troy rambled on as he expressed what he was thinking.

Ryan's smile grew larger at Troy's reaction. He had to refrain from giggling. "I always knew Troy. I am not scared it's just who I am. The reason why I'm telling you guys this is that I'm going to start dating this guy, and I wanted to give you a heads up."

"Who?" Troy's eyes widened. 

"Is it Jack?" Chad asked. 

It was Ryan's turn to look shocked. "Yeah, wow you're gaydar is good."

"Yeah, that and he's coming over here," Chad nodded in the direction of the jock. He grinned at the surprised looks of his friends. 

Troy stared at Jack, he came over to them and stood beside Ryan. He put his arm around Ryan's waist, just like they were any normal heterosexual couple. Troy did not know Jack that well but he never knew that he was gay. In fact, he was pretty sure the last he heard that Jack was a big womanizer. Troy squashed the thought as it was obviously not true.

His thoughts moved to Ryan. He was blushing lightly and leaning into Jack. He looked really happy with a smile that Troy had never seen on Ryan's face before. Troy frowned. He really did not like the way Ryan looked at Jack. It was like Ryan was infatuated with him because it was he was the first person to give Ryan any attention. It burned Troy to think that Ryan was settling with a guy because of his many years in Sharpay's shadows.

"Hey Troy are you okay?" Zeke asked nudging the singer in the side. "Jack and Ryan are going to join in okay?"

"Oh, okay, cool," Troy nodded. He was surprised to find that his team now consisted of Zeke and Ryan. Ryan made to apologize right off for not being very good at basketball but Troy shrugged his apology off. "Don't worry about being good just have fun."

Troy gave the ball to Chad to start with since their team was losing. The guys began to get into the game just like they had before; soon both Ryan and Jack had their shirts off too. Troy discretely watched the interaction between the two guys. Ryan looked insanely happy, and Troy had to admit it was a nice look. As the game progressed Troy pushed his bad feeling about Ryan and Jack being together to the side. It was obvious they liked each other and who was he to say they could not try and be happy. 

When the game ended however, Troy's team winning, his bad feelings came rushing back. He watched Jack give Ryan a big kiss, it was a simple one without any tongue, but the sight made Troy's blood boil. Rationally he knew he had to get out of there before he lost it. He quickly made an excuse about meeting Gabby and escaped going for milkshakes with the guys.

He got home as quickly as he could. He barely mumbled a greeting to his parents before heading up to his room. He shut the door and locked it with a click. Then he stripped to his boxers and fell into bed. He pulled the blankets over him and closed his eyes tight. He forced himself to sleep, he would not allow himself to think over what he had just witnessed or the way he felt about it. He knew if he did it would change his whole life.


	5. Chapter 5

Title: Ice Prince

Title: Ice Prince

Author: Mrpointyhorns aka Blemery

Author's Email: 

Rating: M

Status: WIP

Part: 5/?

Pairings: Eventually Troy/Ryan, starts with Troy/Gabby and Ryan/OC

Warnings: Slash, Tryan, abusive relationship

Spoilers: None.

Summary: Sharpay and Ryan try out for the figure skating show. Ryan catches the eye of the ice hockey's captain, but is he as really charming as he seems. Troy starts to ask questions when he realizes that he might be jealous.

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by Disney. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

Chapter 5

He stood in front of his closet trying to find something to wear. It felt weird to him, because he had more clothes then most the guys and girls at school, but still he was having trouble finding something to wear. He pushed away from the closet in defeat and sat down on his bed.

"God, I have _nothing_ to wear," he said. He put his head in his hands and leaned his elbows on his knees. Ryan was going out with Jack that night, but not only was it an official date for them; it was also a double date with Troy and Gabriella. Ryan wanted to dress not only to impress Jack, but to impress the people that saw Jack with him. He wanted people to think that Jack was lucky to be with him.

He sighed deeply and looked at his hat collection. He decided that, since looking at his clothes was getting him no wear, he would dress from the top down. Picking out a green and pink checkered Gatsby, Ryan put it on his head. It covered his hair and shaded his eyes.

He smiled into the mirror on the inside of his closet door, then he set about matching his shirt, pants, socks, and shoes with his hat. Even though he was always in fashion, although sometimes loud fashion, tonight he was dress in a semi-causal evening wear. He had a button down green, pink, and white collared-shirt, and a slightly darker shade of green khaki like pants. He completed the dress with pink high-top shoes.

Then he went into the bathroom, to freshen up. He put a soft shade of eyeliner on, not like rock-stars, but something to make his eyes pop.

"Oh you look sharp Ry," Sharpay said to her brother. She slipped by him to use the toilet, shutting the door between the sinks, and the toilet and shower.

"Thanks Shar, I'm going out with Jack, Gabby, and Troy," he called through the door. He stepped away from the mirror and stepped to the hall, but he waited for a reply from his sister in the doorway.

"Remember we have practice all day tomorrow," Sharpay called. Tomorrow was Saturday and that meant that everyone practiced together in the morning, and then the two groups would spilt the rink and work on their numbers in the afternoon, and then in the evening everyone took turns performing their solos and getting critiqued. "We have a competition on the 12th, that's next Saturday."

"I know," Ryan sighed it was the umpteenth time that she had reminded him. He was excited about the up coming competition too, but felt that his sister was making too big of a deal out of it.

Ryan hurried out of the house just as Jack was pulling up in front. He took the passenger seat of the large SUV. He smoothed out his shirt before putting on his belt. "Ready?"

"Of course," Jack leaned over the middle to share a kiss with Ryan.

Jack took a route that he claimed was faster then the one Ryan would have used. Ryan did not argue however, he preferred not driving. Jack turned up the hard rap music that was ready to bust his speakers. Ryan pressed back against his seat from the intensity of it. He could not tell Jack to turn it down if he tried as he would never hear him.

The hockey player slammed on his breaks as he approached a car driving safely in front of him. Almost at once he started honking his horn at the 'slow' driver. Ryan stared at Jack, the last time he had rode in his car he did not act like this. It was really weird. Jack even rolled down his window and flipped the man off when he got in the shoulder to pass the car.

Ryan gripped his seat with his nails, closing his eyes as Jack went faster than Ryan thought was possible. Jack was right this way was faster, at least the way Jack drove.

The blond boy was just grateful when he finally got out of the car. He wanted to kiss the ground, but he did not want to be rude. He settled for walking to the restaurant without waiting for Jack to get out of the car.

"Hey Ryan," Gabby said when Ryan enter the restaurant. She gave him a half hug and smiled. "You look really good. You smell good too."

"Thanks Gabby," Ryan smiled. Gabby was wearing a causal blouse but regular denim jeans. Troy's clothes almost matched hers except he wore a collared-shirt. They were both dressed better then Jack who was in his normal school clothes.

"What's up, Ry?" Jack said as he finally caught up to him. Ryan gave him a little shrug. He did not want to get into it. "Hey Bolton, Mrs. Bolton."

Gabby blushed at Jack calling her Mrs. Bolton, "I guess we were never really introduced. I'm Gabby Montez."

"I know who you are," Jack said rolling his eyes slightly. Ryan gaped at the boy. He was acting completely different from anytime he had even been with him. As if Jack had caught Ryan's look, he added, "I'm Jack."

Ryan was glad that Gabby and Troy did not seem phased by Jack's weird behavior. The hostess finally arrived to take them to their seats. They sat at a little booth near the middle of the restaurant.

"Do you want to share something Troy?" Gabby asked looking at the menu.

"Sorry baby, but I'm on a strict calorie diet and I need all the carbs I can get right now." Troy explained.

Ryan laughed at Troy. The boy would starve if he had to share a meal, considering he was usually eating enough for two. "I'll share something with you Gabby."

"Ooh yeah you girls share," Jack joked. He put down his menu already decided. He lifted his fingers to his lips and whistled at a passing waitress. She stopped and looked at him curiously. "Hey don't you think it's about time that you at least took our drink order."

"Jack we just sat down," Ryan touched his arm gently. The jock relaxed, and the waitress hurried off to find out who was taking care of them. Ryan smiled at the other couple, before turning his attention complete to Gabby, "What were you thinking?"

"The Mahi-Mahi," Gabby suggested. Ryan quickly agreed with her choice, it sounded delicious.

After the drinks were served and the food order was placed, the two couples sat awkwardly looking at their silverware for a few minutes. Then Ryan cleared his throat, "So do you have a big game coming up or something is that why you're beefing up?"

Troy smiled looking up from his utensils. "Actually, yes. I'm really surprised. Usually we don't get to play this late in the year, and have to pick it back up in March or April, but we're going to Tucson to play in a tournament there. It's going to be so cool. We'll be there for the whole weekend."

"Oh what weekend is it?" Ryan asked. He took a sip of his green tea. He glanced at Jack when he felt a hand pressed against his thigh.

"Next weekend," Troy answered quickly. "We leave on Thursday that way we're well rested on Friday afternoon when the tournament starts."

Ryan's face fell a little, but he kept a small smile on it. "Well good luck. Sharpay and I, and the rest of the ice skating team are competing locally that Saturday."

"Aw man Ry, that sucks," Troy frowned, even Gabby frowned. "But Gabby will go. She can't come down to Tucson with us. Maybe Taylor and Kelsi can go as well."

Gabby grinned, "That's a great idea. Kelsi heard that you choreographed your number with Sharpay. She really seems interested in seeing you perform."

Jack made a little face. He was sucking down his soda almost faster then the waitress could bring them. "That's what the performance in December is for."

"So I'll go with the girls this time and make Troy bring me next time," Gabby joked lightly.

Troy laughed a little, "This ice dancing better be really manly and bloody Ryan."

"It's actually not ice dancing. Its ice skating, the two are a little different…" Ryan trailed off at the looks he received from both his friends and his boyfriend. "I think there is a murder in the last performance."

"Awesome," Troy grinned in a cheesy fashion. He, Ryan, and Gabby laughed at their conversation.

"Where is our food," Jack said when the laughter subsided. He looked at his watch and then shifted a little uncomfortably in his seat.

"Don't worry, honey," Ryan put his hand on Jack's, the one still on his thigh and squeezed it.

Jack shook his hand off giving Ryan a look, "I'm hungry okay."

"Geez you're like a Neanderthal," Troy laughed at the other jock. "All you think about is food and sex."

"And sleep, don't forget that," Gabby joked along with him.

Jack glared at Troy, but ignored Gabby, "Shove it Bolton. I know you think you're better than me because you play Basketball and _golf_, and I just play the bloodthirsty game of Hockey. But it wasn't my choice to come out with you here to night. If I remember you and Gabby invited me and Ryan along."

"J_ack_," Ryan hissed at him. Gabby and Troy looked a little stunned and unsure of what to say. Ryan wanted nothing more than to leave. Maybe Jack would stop acting like a prick then, and he could stop feeling embarrassed around his friends.

Before anyone could say anything else dinner arrived, and the waitress even put Gabby and Ryan's fish on two separate plates.

Jack practically devoured his food, and Troy was right behind him, but he did so in a happier way. Ryan and Gabby ate slower but they had less to eat. They were all finished in no time.

As soon as the meal was over Jack called over the waitress. He and Troy split the bill, but Troy looked displeased when Jack refused to offer anything for a tip. He said the service and the food sucked and then he practically fled the restaurant. Ryan gave Troy and extra twenty for the tip before leaving after his boyfriend.

"Jack, what the hell is wrong with you," Ryan snapped as Jack drove him home. Ryan refused to do anything else with Jack that night. "Troy and Gabby are friends of mine and you were them and to the waitress. I'm so embarrassed I never want to double with them again."

"Good," Jack snapped. He gripped the steering wheel tightly. "I don't like them. I mean Gabby is okay for the most part, but Troy is so annoy. I don't really like you hanging out with them Ryan."

"Jack, if you don't like them fine, but please don't tell me who I can hang out with," Ryan's temper deflated a little. He just wanted to be reasonable.

"I'm not telling you who to hang out with. I'm just looking out for you. Troy and his friends are just bad news, trust me." Jack said. He pulled to a stop in front of Ryan's house. "Look I'm sorry about how rude I was tonight. I just have some stress going on at home and at school. I probably placed some of that on you and your friends. Can you please forgive me?"

Ryan did not really have to think about it. He had never seen Jack act like that before so he assumed something was going on. It was a relief to know that something was going on, and he was fine with not knowing what that was. At least Jack had the decency to apologize, "Yeah I forgive you."

He leaned over the middle of the car and he and Jack got into a heated make-out session. It lasted about fifteen minutes, and then Sharpay came over and knocked on the glass window. "We have all day practice tomorrow!" She called through the window.

Ryan rolled his eyes and kissed Jack on the check before getting out of the car. "Thank you so much your Highness," he teased his sister before following her into the house.


	6. Chapter 6

Title: Ice Prince

Title: Ice Prince

Author: Mrpointyhorns aka Blemery

Author's Email: 

Rating: M

Status: WIP

Part: 5/?

Pairings: Eventually Troy/Ryan, starts with Troy/Gabby and Ryan/OC

Warnings: Slash, Tryan, abusive relationship

Spoilers: None.

Beta: phoenixdreams

Summary: Sharpay and Ryan try out for the figure skating show. Ryan catches the eye of the ice hockey's captain, but is he as really charming as he seems. Troy starts to ask questions when he realizes that he might be jealous.

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by Disney. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

--

Chapter 6

--

Even Troy, who was from Albuquerque New Mexico, had the idea that Tucson was full of cacti and pistol swinging cowboys. He could not be more wrong, although some of the suburbs respected the nature of the desert and left their landscape like it was supposed to be. The place was beautiful, and the people were just the same as he and his friends were, to top it all off it was the second week in November and it was a warm 73 degrees, beautiful for playing a round of golf.

Troy and his friends were finishing up the back nine of that day's competition. The tournament went until Sunday and totaled the score from all three days, Friday afternoon, Saturday all day, and Sunday until the afternoon. It was Friday and the sun was just starting to set: it turned the mountains pink and the skies orange.

"Woo, look at that," Chad pointed to the colorful sky. "Man what a view," he said before bending his head to sink his put.

"Yeah, just hurry it up. We're almost finished," Troy said. He loved golf, but Chad was really slowing them down. He wanted to get back to the club and then to dinner.

The four Wildcats drove their carts to the 18th hole. Troy teed off first and then an interesting conversation began.

"Would any of you guys consider messing around with another guy?" The question came from Jason and it caused Zeke to take a step away from him. "Oh shove it. I was just thinking. I mean I know the stereotypes, but look at Jack. He considered it, and he doesn't act gay at all."

Chad teed up and the group grew quiet as he did so. He landed his ball on the green and pumped his fist. "Ha, I beat Troy."

"You're just the next Tiger Woods aren't you," Zeke joked. He set about getting his wood ready. "I guess I wouldn't have a problem messing around with a guy. You know if it just happened. I don't want it to be planned or thought about afterwards. Just a quick let me get you off sort of thing."

Troy watched as Zeke's ball hit the grass just beyond the green; it was hard to tell if his or Zeke's was further. Jason was the last up.

"Now, I wouldn't do that," Chad pointed at Zeke as Jason got ready. "But I'm not about to lead a double life or anything. I mean I really like Taylor, but if she wasn't in the picture, I would consider being with another guy. I'm seventeen; I'm allowed to be curious right?"

"Right." The guys nodded not wanting Chad to feel embarrassed, but for most it felt true, being young had its advantages. Jason's ball fell a little short of Troy's but it would only need one more hit to get on the green.

The guys piled in their golf carts and headed over to their balls. "What about you Troy?" Jason said since his ball was further from the green he had to hit his ball first. The guys waited in the carts for him to hit the ball.

"Sure I guess I would consider doing stuff with a guy, but I am dating Gabby," Troy said. He was actually relieved that his friends would consider a physical rendezvous with another guy. It that did not mean they were gay. It just meant that there was some sort of gray area. "I think any two people can find some comfort or understanding with each other, but I don't think I would got looking for a guy to mess around with ya know?"

The guys all nodded and got on with their golf game. Jason said he agreed with all of them, he would do a quickie, or he would consider dating a guy, but he was not going to look around for guys, que sera sera.

After the game, the guys headed to the club house. Everyone from the competition had to meet up there after their round of golf. Then they would be bussed over to the hotel, unless they lived in Tucson then they would be allowed to go home.

The Wildcats' golf team ate dinner together in the Denny's just outside the hotel. Then the guys were told that they were allowed to stay up but they had to stay in their rooms. The rooms were divided two to a room; originally, they wanted four to a room but the coaches realized that two of the guys would not be getting a good night sleep if they did that, because they would end up sleeping on the floor

Troy and Chad had a connecting room with Jason and Zeke. Their seniority allowed them such luck. The guys set up their Xbox on the television and settled down for a night of Halo wars. The four were equally matched and they were having fun. They all packed loads of snacks, and each had brought their own booze, which was hid in the hotel's mini fridge.

At around eleven Troy was told to do an ice run because their fruity liquor was getting warm. Troy asked why they even had fruity liquor and Chad said that Ryan must have snuck it in his bag. The four inebriated guys thought this was the funniest joke in the world and Troy giggled all the way down the hall to the ice machine.

"What's so funny," a black haired teen that Troy did not know said when he stepped off the elevator.

"Chad just said..." Troy frowned now that he thought about it the joke was not that funny." You had to be there."

The black haired teen nodded as he watched Troy fumbling with the ice machine. "Are you okay?"

"Yes. Well, I think so," Troy hissed a little kicking the machine with his barefoot. "Fuck."

"Calm down." The teen moved around helping Troy out with the ice. "You're with the golf tournament right?"

"Yep, Wildcats," Troy said with an arrogant smile.

"Well, good thing for us half your team will be hung over tomorrow." The teen said with a large grin. "I'm Jim."

"Troy." Troy shook Jim's hand, but hardly managed to keep the ice bucket upright. "Man, you're right."

Jim chuckled lightly. "Don't worry about it. It happens. You'll probably be okay anyway; I mean the worst hangovers don't come until after your thirty."

"Is that a fact?" Troy grinned at the other teenager.

"Well I can't say from experience or anything, but that's what they say." Jim stepped over to the vending machine and purchased a bottle of water. "Here, I don't want to feel like I won the tournament unfairly."

Troy turned a light shade of red, taking the offered water. "Thanks. You know maybe I shouldn't take this ice back to the room. It's to cool our fruity drinks."

"Why do you have fruity drinks?" Jim raised a dark eyebrow. The gesture made Troy looking into the teen's gray eyes. They shimmered a little, and Troy felt for the first time that he was looking into some a person's soul. "Uh, Troy?"

"Oh, sorry man." Troy turned even redder. "Oh man that's so bad, you just caught me staring, huh?"

"Well, actually I thought you spaced out," Jim explained. Troy flinched. Then Jim cocked his head to the side and asked, "Were you staring?"

"No, I mean yes, I mean, it's not what you think," Troy struggled to explained. "I wasn't staring at you. I was looking at your soul."

Another quirk of an eyebrow and Troy felt even more embarrassed, but before he could get lost in the teen's soul again, before he could even blush, Jim had him shoved up against the ice machine. Troy did not even have time to duck, but the punch he suspected never came. Instead a hot, hard mouth covered his.

Troy gasped not knowing what to do, the alcohol really slowing his reaction time, and giving him a chance to think. He lifted his arms to push Jim away and tell him that he had a girlfriend, but instead he fisted his hands into Jim's shirt, and realized that he lost his bucket of ice somewhere along the way.

It was hard for them to get purchase after that, the ice melting all over the floor made the two teens slip and slide, even if they were not grinding into each other they would have noticed a certain amount of friction. With the ice in the way however, it proved impossible to get enough friction in order to get off.

Jim pulled away first. He looked Troy in the eye. "Do you...?"

"Yes!" Troy interrupted. Jim grabbed Troy by the wrist and dragged him back to his room. The door slammed shut, and strange sounds followed.

--

"Oh my god,"ﾝ Jim groaned. He lay back down on the hotel bed. He was still trying to catch his breath. He had never done that before.

"Yeah," Troy said from his side of the bed. He was still breathing heavily he had no idea that sex could be so mind blowing. Sex? "Oh shit." Troy sat up straight pulling the covers over his body. "Oh shit, I shouldn't have. I…God…"

"Troy? Troy calm down," Jim tried to pull Troy back down. "What's wrong?"

"I have a girlfriend. Shit, I never meant to do that. Troy shook his head. He scanned the room for his boxers. He was suddenly feeling very sober and he was sure his friends would freak out if he did not show up soon.

Jim raised an eyebrow a little. "I'm not the type of person to condone cheating, but usually there is a reason for it."

"Yeah, I'm a huge bastard." Troy put his head in his hands. He pulled at his hair angry at what he had just done. "It's just my friend Ryan. Ever since he started going out with this guy I haven't been myself."

Jim sat up now, and looked at Troy. "You haven't come out yet?"

"N-no. I don't even know if I need to," Troy grumbled.

"Shit, Troy,"ﾝ Jim lay back on the bed. "Look I don't care if you were experimenting, but fuck, you have to know that's what you're doing before you do what we just did. If you're as messed up as you are, you can't just throw yourself at people and think it will help the problem."

"I know it wouldn't fix the problem. I just, I don't know what I'm doing,"ﾝ Troy groaned some more.

"I realized that. Look Troy this was just a one night thing, and maybe it could have been a two night thing, but unless you figure out where you stand, straight, bi, gay, curious then I don't think it's right for me to take advantage of you. You can't be truly willing unless you know what you want out of a situation like this. You need to think, talk to your girlfriend, talk to this Ryan, talk a counselor, but just figure it out." Jim stood up from the bed and, gathering up Troy's clothes, he brought them to the boy in bed. He sat down in front of Troy and looked at the confused boy. "I know it's hard, but it will be even harder if you never figure it out."

"I just want to be normal." Troy sniffed a little but he did not cry. He pulled on his shirt, but fumbled a little with the boxers. "How did you know?"

"How did I know what?" Jim asked with a little smile on his face. "Did I ever say I was gay? I could just be curious."

"You're not," Troy looked up at the boy. "I can tell."

"I'm not. I just like people. I would really be missing out on a lot of people if I settle for only one gender. But do you know what I like the best?" Jim asked with a small smirk on his face.

"No," Troy shook his head a little.

"Guys like you Troy. Ones that have too many gray areas; you could go your whole life without ever questioning your sexuality, but the entire time you just feel like everything is overrated. Here, let me give you my email address. I doubt you'll want to talk to anyone you know." He reached over to the bedside table to scribble down his email address.

Troy stood pulling on his boxers and jeans. He took the email address, but just stood there. "You don't have to go," Jim offered.

"Yeah, I do. But, uh thanks. You're pretty smart," Troy shuffled his feet a little.

"I'm really self aware, is all," Jim stood from the bed and led Troy to the door. "Don't worry about the ice, if your friends were as drunk as you were then they're probably passed out."

Troy grinned a little. He stood in the frame of the door for a moment. Then he leaned in to press one last kiss to Jim before heading back to his room.

He felt better knowing that he had someone to talk to. He did not have to be gay or straight, he just had to figure out what he was. It might not all come at once, but it would be worth the wait. He remembered how long it took him to sing up on stage. How stifled he felt before he accepted his desire to do the high school's musical. He thought he had gotten over that feeling, but it was possible that his desire to sing opened the door to other desires that he never thought of before.


	7. Chapter 7

Title: Ice Prince

Title: Ice Prince

Author: Mrpointyhorns aka Blemery

Author's Email: M

Status: WIP

Part: 7/?

Pairings: Eventually Troy/Ryan, starts with Troy/Gabby and Ryan/OC

Warnings: Slash, Tryan, abusive relationship

Spoilers: None.

Summary: Sharpay and Ryan try out for the figure skating show. Ryan catches the eye of the ice hockey's captain, but is he as really charming as he seems. Troy starts to ask questions when he realizes that he might be jealous.

Beta: Phoenixdreams

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by Disney. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended

A/N: I'm sorry I didn't post sooner. I was sick, and for this fic I actually had some sort of schedule when it came to posting, my other fics I just sort of wing it. So sorry.

--

Chapter 7

--

"Hey Ryan, check this out," Sharpay hurried over to her twin. She held a nice sized trophy in her hand and two envelopes. "I'm starting to understand why these things are so nice."

Ryan laughed at his sister. Even though they had competed when they were younger, Sharpay never cared about the trophy; she just wanted to be the best. But since they had focused just on acting and musicals their trophy collection had stopped expanding. Last night however they had placed third in the partner skate, and Ryan had gotten a special award for young choreographer. The third place gave them both a 500 hundred dollar scholarship which was nice even though Ryan and Sharpay's parents could afford to put them through school.

Rebecca had place for a solo number that she had been performing for several years. She also received a scholarship, but she and Jack did not rank in their partner skating.

"Great job, guys. I really enjoyed your performance. I can't wait to see what you have planned for the musical, Ry," Gabriella said. She and Kelsi had come over because their boyfriends were traveling home from Tucson. They had seen them compete yesterday, and wanted to congratulate them.

"Just be careful for what you wish for. My sweet loving brother turns into a monster when he's trying to make his choreographing work," Sharpay placed the trophy on the coffee table and then looked at Kelsi, "So any hints about what we should expect."

"Well, I'll tell you that it's called Fortune Isles, but I can't tell you anymore before the final product is finished," Kelsi flushed a little bit. She knew she was being unreasonable but she could not help it. She was too nervous that revealing part of her show would ruin it.

"That's not telling us anything," Ryan pouted. He was hoping for more then that, but he knew he would get the first look at the musical since he would be part of its production.

Kelsi bit her lip gently and sighed softly, "Alright. It's about a prince, he is unsatisfied with his life as prince and he is worried about how that will affect the kingdom especially since his father the king is sick. The prince knows that ever since his father became sick that his uncle, the king's brother has been stealing from the people and corrupting the government. One day he meets a peasant boy who has always wished to be more then a helping hand. They decide to switch places, which just ends up terrible because the prince falls in love with a milk maid, and the peasant boy falls in love with a princess. That's about all I have so far."

The three listening all looked at each other and then back at Kelsi. "Oh that sounds really good. Really romantic."

"Yeah, it's based off the Prince and the Pauper, but I'm still trying to work out the end. I also want to make the girls roles bigger. We'll see," Kelsi shrugged. She drifted off for a minute as if she was thinking about it.

The group startled when Ryan's phone rang loudly. Ryan excused himself and took the phone call in the hall. "Jack?"

"Ryan where the hell are you?" Jack voice snapped like a whip.

"I'm at home talking to the girls," Ryan rolled his eyes even though Jack could not see him. "Is that a problem?"

"What girls?" Jack voice was less harsh but still just as accusing. "Is it that Montez girl? You know I don't like you hanging out with her."

"She's just a girl. Calm down, Jack. If you want me to I'll tell them I have to go and we can meet up for lunch or something." Ryan suggested. He did not want Jack to be mad at him; there was no reason for him to be.

He waited a few minutes before he heard Jack sigh, "Okay, come over Ryan. And maybe we can do more then just eat."

Ryan giggled and hung up the phone. He hurried back in the living room, "I know we agreed to go shopping today, but I just remembered that I made plans with Jack."

The girls gave him a strange look. He wondered if he had been loud when he was talking to Jack. "Hey that's okay right?"

"Sure Ryan, have fun," Sharpay waved her brother away and then turned away from him. The other girls still remained quiet but Ryan took the chance to leave.

He quickly ran upstairs to dress a bit nicer before he left the house. He took his sparsely used car and headed towards Jack's house. He was not surprised to find that Jack's parents were not home. Ryan shrugged of his jacket and placed it on the back of the couch before sitting down next to Jack on the couch.

"Hey baby," Ryan leaned over to kiss his cheek. Jack batted him away and pointed to the television. It looked like Jack was watching a game of ice hockey. Ryan frowned; the game never really interested him. Still he settled back on the couch leaning heavily against Jack.

As soon as the commercial came on Jack turned his attention to Ryan. "What are you wearing?" Ryan looked a bit stunned at the comment. He really tried to dress to impress Jack and apparently he did not do too well. Jack touched Ryan's shirt and looked at it disapprovingly, "Do you have to be so flamboyant? It's not like we live in San Francisco or New York, this is not _Queer Eye for the Straight Guy_."

"I like this shirt," Ryan protested, but he suddenly had an urge to burn it. "Whatever I figured you wouldn't keep it on me for too long."

Jack gave Ryan a look, but stopped when the game came on. "Will you get me a refill?" He asked holding up his empty can of beer. Ryan raised an eyebrow but went into the kitchen to get Jack a beer. He looked down at his shirt thoughtfully. He liked to wear colorful shirts. He never realized that Jack did not like them. Ryan wore bright shirts almost every day; it was part of the package. Sighing Ryan knew it would eat at him until he went home to go through his closet.

He walked back into the living room with another can of beer. He sat down next to Jack and handed the beer to him. He lay back against him, and pretended to watch the game. Ryan was not opposed to all sports he just did not like to watch hockey especially on television, especially when he would much rather do something with his boyfriend.

After Ryan sighed for the fifth time Jack looked down at him and pushed him away a bit. "What is wrong with you, Ryan? You're the one that wanted to come over."

"I know, but I thought we would do something," Ryan whined a little. He felt so pathetic in front of Jack. He wondered if it was normal to feel so little in front of a lover.

Jack rolled his eyes pushing Ryan away a little more forcefully. "Well gee Ryan you should have thought about that before you invited yourself over in the middle of my game."

Ryan shuttered a little bit. He was really confused about this situation and maybe that's why he was unable to get mad or upset at Jack for the way he was acting. "You didn't want me to go to the mall with the girls."

"Yeah, that is because I don't like you hanging out with Gabriella, and who are these other girls? Do I know them?" Jack snipped. He was still trying to watch his game but Ryan could tell that he was mad.

"Just Sharpay, and Kelsi. Are you going to tell me that I'm not allowed to hang out with my sister anymore?" Ryan asked.

"Well it is a little weird, Ryan. And she's not really nice to you. All I've even seen her do is walk all over you. When are you going to grow up and realize that you're the male twin," Jack snapped. The commercial came on and he looked at Ryan. The blond looked horrified. He looked like he was trying to decide whether to cry or to yell. "I know she's your sister Ryan, but that's just it. She's _just_ your sister. It's great that you're close, but sometimes you seem a bit more like her shadow then her brother."

Ryan folded his arms over his chest. He pouted. He thought it was unfair that Jack judge him like that. They had been dating for less then a month, how could he say such things. But, at some levels Jack was right. Sharpay did take advantage of Ryan and sometimes at such lengths that she ended up hurting Ryan to better herself.

"I'm sorry," he said to Jack. He did not know why but he actually felt like he needed to apologize to Jack because of how he let his sister treat him. He lay back down pressed against Jack. The athlete put an arm around Ryan and rubbed his fingers along Ryan's lower arm. He shuttered a little closing his eyes. He was still really confused. He knew he should be mad at Jack, but the other boy seemed so confident and unmoved by anything that Ryan had to say. It seemed almost pointless for Ryan to get mad because he knew he would never get anything he wanted if he got mad.

"Hey, Ry," Jack said after a few minutes. He pressed a kiss to Ryan's blond hair. "I'm sorry I'm so blunt, but I just don't like seeing people taking advantage of you." The blond nodded slightly. "Shh it's okay baby. We're okay."

Ryan sighed a little. He did not know why but he felt relieved by Jack's apology. Maybe it was because he was still so confused about what was going on. He wanted to accept Jack's apology and just forget about what had happened. He was right after all, Sharpay did not treat him right, and maybe Gabriella did not treat him right either. Maybe he was blinded by her sweet smile, and her gentle orders, but perhaps she was just like Sharpay. Jack cared about him, and he wanted Ryan to be safe and happy, so maybe Ryan would start listening to him.


	8. Chapter 8

Title: Ice Prince

Title: Ice Prince

Author: Mrpointyhorns aka Blemery

Author's Email: M

Status: WIP

Part: 8/?

Pairings: Eventually Troy/Ryan, starts with Troy/Gabby and Ryan/OC

Warnings: Slash, Tryan, abusive relationship

Spoilers: None.

Summary: Sharpay and Ryan try out for the figure skating show. Ryan catches the eye of the ice hockey's captain, but is he as really charming as he seems. Troy starts to ask questions when he realizes that he might be jealous.

Beta: Phoenixdreams

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by Disney. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended

A/N: I'm sorry I didn't post sooner. I was sick, and for this fic I actually had some sort of schedule when it came to posting, my other fics I just sort of wing it. So sorry.

--

Chapter 8

--

Basketball practices started shortly after Troy and the rest of the Wildcats returned from Tucson. It was no surprise to them, but it put a serious strain on the rest of their activities. Troy ate, slept, and pissed basketball. He could not let his grades suffer either or he would not be able to play. So he rarely had time for anything else, girlfriends, best friends, or otherwise.

So when Troy found himself staring dumbly at a poster announcing the ice skating performance that day he almost went into cardiac arrest. He knew his absences would not be a big deal, especially to the Evans' twins, but his presence would be appreciated.

"Troy, are you listening?" Gabriella asked. She waved a hand in front of his face trying to get his attention. She briefly looked over to the poster to see what was so interesting. "You forgot didn't you?"

"I didn't forget. I just didn't know it was today." Troy frowned. He thought back to his practice schedule trying to figure out if he could go. It was Friday, and that meant no practices, which might look like a blessing, only it was not. He did not have practice on Friday nights because he had practice all day Saturday.

Gabriella rolled her eyes and shook her head. "I told you about it Troy. But don't worry. I already got your ticket. You wouldn't believe how sold out this thing is. But that's probably because of the way Sharpay has been raving about it for the last three weeks."

Troy nodded his consent. It was strange being a Wildcat. Unlike every other school, the head cheerleader was not the most popular girl. But then again at every other school the basketball's captain did not tryout and perform in the high school's musical.

"You know, I haven't seen Ryan in a really long time," Troy commented as he continued to walk Gabriella to his beat up truck to give her a ride home.

"Don't worry, no one has. It's really sweet actually; he and Jack are joined at the hip. I can tell that they're really in love. It's a little strange talking to _only _Sharpay." Gabriella added the last bit with a teasing grin.

Troy nodded along. He could only take his girlfriend's word for it. He knew he had to be happy for the couple, but was not sure that he could. Ryan was not hanging out with his sister, at all? It did not feel right to him.

He pulled to a stop in front of Gabriella's house before actually realizing that he had just driven all the way there. He grimaced. He should pay more attention to the road with Gabriella in the car. "I'll pick you up in an hour?"

"Okay. Sharpay said we can go to IHOP with them to celebrate after the performance. So don't eat too much." Gabriella leaned forward and kissed her boyfriend on the lips.

Troy nodded, but knew he would not listen. He was still a teenage boy, and he was always hungry. He watched her get into her house before pulling away from the curb. He had to turn around to get back to his house, but driving Gabriella was not too far out of the way.

He changed out of his school clothesand changed into something he felt more comfortable wearing for a date-with friends. Then he went into the kitchen to grab something to tidehim over. His mom had made fruit salad the night before and he settled into some of that.

Then he went to pick up Gabriella even though he knew he would be early. His parents were not home and he did not feel like waiting to leave. He much preferred waiting in his truck until Gabriella hurried out of the house her shoes still in her hands.

The show was amazing, Troy had to admit. He usually did not get into ice skating, even during the Olympics. But this show was the right kind of beauty, grace, and humor for him to enjoy. He thought that it helped that he knew some of the people skating.

Ryan and Sharpay's number was great. It was much better then the slow number that Jack and his partner did, but Troy felt that he was being biased. He also liked the group numbers that the team did. Troy was just glad that he had no secret desire to pick up ice skating, because as fun as it look he also knew it was hard work.

Troy went with Gabriella, Kelsi, Zeke, Chad, and Taylor to congratulate the twins. Sharpay was taking the praise as always with a smile here and a tear there. She insisted on giving a few students her autograph.

As Troy and his friends approached the blonde, he noticed that Ryan was not around. He figured the blond was around somewhere. So he slipped behind the group to look for the other half of the Evans' twins.

"We're not going to hang out with them Ryan that's final." Jack's voice came from around the corner. Troy slowed his pace so he could hear what was going on. He looked around the corner, but tried to remain unseen. He did not need to be so cautious though. Jack and Ryan were pay attention only to each other.

"But they are my friends Jack. I haven't been able to talk to them for a while, because of _you_," Ryan hissed. He was pressed against the wall by Jack's presences alone.

"I just don't like you hanging out with them Ryan. They're not good enough for you," Jack swore. He hovered closer to Ryan but still did not touch him. "Let's just go back to my place okay?"

"Jack please." Ryan's voice fell to a whisper.

Jack's fist hit the wall near the right side of Ryan's face making Ryan start. "NO!" Jack snapped. "If you love me Ryan you wouldn't even ask that."

"I do love you Jack, but…"

"No buts Ryan. Come on. We're going home." Jack grabbed Ryan's wrist and pulled him towards the door marked exit. Ryan struggled a little bit until Jack tugged his wrist roughly. Ryan stumbled a little but did not make a sound.

He caught Troy's eye when he glanced back longingly. His eyes widened when he saw Troy but he said nothing. He simply turned and walked the other way.

Troy did not want to assume anything that he saw was really all that bad. The two looked like they just had a fight, and of course he felt angry at Jack. He was friends with Ryan not Jack. He did not think it was right the way Jack had used fear to control him. Yet, he could not believe that Jack would knowingly do that to someone that loved him.

Shaking his head Troy turned and walked away. He could not do anything about it now. It was just a fight, and if he got involved he would end up looking like the bad guy.

"Hey Troy, did you see my brother?" Sharpay called when Troy finally emerged.

"Yeah- he uh, went back to Jack's house." Troy gave a small shrug hoping the answer would be enough. It made Troy feel disappoint when it was. They were not worried about Ryan at all. They just thought he and Jack were so in love not even questioning why Ryan would not want to celebrate with his friends. Troy had to squash his thoughts. He had to believe that what he had seen was unusual for the pair; otherwise his friends would be worried. He had to believe that Ryan and Jack really loved each other; otherwise Troy would feel guilty for not stepping in himself.


	9. Chapter 9

Title: Ice Prince

Title: Ice Prince

Author: Mrpointyhorns aka Blemery

Author's Email: M

Status: WIP

Part: 9/?

Pairings: Eventually Troy/Ryan, starts with Troy/Gabby and Ryan/OC

Warnings: Slash, Tryan, abusive relationship

Spoilers: None.

Summary: Sharpay and Ryan try out for the figure skating show. Ryan catches the eye of the ice hockey's captain, but is he as really charming as he seems. Troy starts to ask questions when he realizes that he might be jealous.

Beta: Phoenixdreams

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by Disney. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended

--

Chapter 9

--

Ryan grunted as he worked to unlock his locker. It usually was not so difficult, but Ryan kept over turning the dial that day. He was starting to become nervy lately, but he often mistook the unsettling feeling as a result of his regular morning lattes. His hands shock gently as he attempted to open his locker for the seventh time and his eyes kept jumping from focus point to focus point, consistently reformatting the images into his mind. These two factors were the reason for his still closed locker.

He slammed the palm of his hand against the locker door and swore, but only in his head. He gritted his teeth together. He wanted to give up, but he knew he needed to get his books for the next class. So he moved to attempt to unlock it again.

"Ryan." The blond jumped. Two hands clapped down on his shoulders, settling him. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."

Ryan spun around, jostling the hands from his shoulders. "Oh, hi Troy," Ryan sighed visibly relaxing. "I'm just having a little trouble with this locker."

Troy raised one perfect eyebrow and reached around Ryan to open the locker, with ease. "I had this one my freshman year."

"Ah, no wonder it smells like gym socks," Ryan said with a slight nod. He then turned right around and stopped talking to Troy. He took his times gathering up and putting away different sets of books. He really wanted Troy to take the hint to leave. He did not want to talk to the jock, but Troy did not move. A heavy awkward silence radiated from Troy, but he did not walk away.

After several minutes Ryan had to finally shut his locker and turn around. He knew he had already spent too much time staring in his locker, and he did not want Troy to think that he was being rude. He just hoped that Jack would not see them.

He glanced down to each end of the hall, before turning if full attention to the basketball star. "Thanks for your help."

"Ryan, wait!" Troy jumped forward blocking Ryan escaping, in the same manner he would use on the court. Ryan had hardly moved a millimeter, he was fast. "I came over because I have something to say."

Ryan took a step back from the defense pose, but nodded slightly. "Sorry, what was it?" He prompted.

"I was at your performance on Saturday," Troy started to say, but he trailed off unsure of how to continue.

"Oh, oh yeah, I think I saw you there." He tried to help him out. He gave Troy a comforting smile. Then looking down at his pile of books, he coyly asked, "Did you like it?"

"Huh?" Troy stared dumbly at Ryan's soft smile, and light blush. It took several moments and a physical shake of his head for him to recover. "Yeah. You did great! You are really talented Ryan. I could tell that you worked real hard. It's very impressive. I didn't get a chance to tell you after the show, but I wanted to let you know how I felt."

Ryan's cheeks burst into a flaming red color. He kept his eyes lowered until the blush faded from his cheeks. When he finally looked up, he smiled. "Thanks Troy. I'm sorry that I didn't catch you after the performance. Jack wanted to celebrate, privately."

"Oh, kay, that's really, cool," Troy trailed off again. He looked distinctly uncomfortable again.

"He's not exactly comfortable with all of you guys. It's a lot for himi to take in. I don't think he's comfortable being publicly, and openly gay," Ryan excused his and his boyfriend's absences.

"Why! You're such a great guy," Troy blurted out. He finished the comment with a glowing blush of his own. "I mean, he shouldn't be embarrassed around any of us. Even if he is, especially if he is, dating you, and making you happy?"

"He makes me happy," Ryan said with a long sigh.

Troy mirrored the sigh. "Are you sure?" Ryan looked away but he nodded.

"Well, then he's really lucky," Troy reassured.

Ryan startled suddenly. He jumped away from the jock. "I-I have to go. I'll see you later Troy." He turned on his heals and walked briskly away. He did not look back.

He knew he had to get away. He felt like it was wrong to stand there and let Troy flirt with him. At least he hoped that it was flirting because otherwise, the feeling he got deep in his gut, was his own fault. If it was Troy's fault, then that was alright, because it was just like Jack had said. And if it was Troy's fault then Ryan knew that he could not be blamed for his body's reaction.

Wait.

That did not make any sense! Ryan threw open the door to his class and took refuge in the fact that no one in the room cared about him a smidgen. Inside he could stop thinking about the horrible way he treated Troy. He could start remembering that he was really happy dating Jack; because Jack was gay, and Jack was not dating Gabriella, and Jack wanted to be with him. Inside the classroom he realized that he only felt love for Jack. Troy had simply reminded him of this when he came up to congratulate him in the hall.


	10. Chapter 10

Title: Ice Prince

Title: Ice Prince

Author: Mrpointyhorns aka Blemery

Author's Email: M

Status: WIP

Part: 10/?

Pairings: Eventually Troy/Ryan, starts with Troy/Gabby and Ryan/OC

Warnings: Slash, Tryan, abusive relationship

Spoilers: None.

Summary: Sharpay and Ryan try out for the figure skating show. Ryan catches the eye of the ice hockey's captain, but is he as really charming as he seems. Troy starts to ask questions when he realizes that he might be jealous.

Beta: Phoenixdreams

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by Disney. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended

--

Chapter 10

--

Winter in Albuquerque was terrible. It had been snowing on and off since the end of October. Since the beginning of December the snow was almost always present, but it was not always fresh. It was very unusual for the area to see so much snow. Most years the town had the occasional snow fall usually melted by mid-afternoon, but this year was different.

So by the twenty-sixth of December, Troy had stopped enjoying the winter fun and started dreading all the work and headache a long winter brought. He had to endure the frigid weather that day, to meet Gabriella in the park. He wore a semi-light winter coat, because it was not snowing that day, but it was still windy and cold enough to keep the old snow from melting.

Troy sat on a bench near the entrance of the park, his hands shoved into his pockets, and his feet kicking up dirty snow from underneath his knees. He was getting jittery because he had been waiting for fifteen minutes already. He was not as worried as he was bored. What he would not give to be home right then. He led his mind wander to the XBox 360 and many games he received that year. He dreamed of sitting in his boxers and creaming Chad in a game of online NBA. He could almost feel the ache in his wrists and thumbs from hours of play, just from the thought.

A breeze picked up drawing Troy's attention. He pulled his coat on tighter and thought that he would even prefer Basketball practice to this. His father, Coach Bolton, had arranged for an optional practice for any guys still left in town. Troy was sure that the entire Varsity team would be there, missing practices meant less court time. He felt sort of guilty for wishing that he was listening to his father rant, instead of sitting around waiting for his girlfriend to show up.

"Troy!" Gabriella called as she rushed over. "I'm really sorry that you had to wait. We left later then we wanted to." She pointed over to her family's van parked parallel to the entrance. She and her family were going skiing for a week. They wanted to be at the lodge by noon, but it was unlikely now.

"Its okay, Gabs. I wasn't waiting too long," Troy lied through his charming smile.

Gabriella smiled back sitting on the bench next to Troy. She never seemed to notice the cold. Taking his hand she squeezed it gently. "I'm glad you came. I've been thinking that we should see other people," She said in one big swoop.

"Wh-what?" Troy felt as stunned as his looked. His mouth hung open and his eyes were wide and the question hung in his mind.

"We should see other people. I'm breaking up with you," Gabriella spelled out correctly. She was doing the best she could. She had never broken up with someone before, and it was difficult trying to be firm and sympathetic.

Troy did not know what to say. He just sat there trying to take in what she was saying. It took several silent minutes before Troy spoke. When he did it was slow and deliberate. "I gave you a promise ring yesterday."

"I know and it made me think. I am not ready for something like that. And then I kept thinking, shouldn't I be ready if Troy is the right guy for me. That's when I realized that I don't feel anything for you anymore." Gabriella explained.

Another jaw-dropping expression took over Troy's face. "You don't feel anything for me?"

"Well, no. I'm not really sure I ever did. When we started liking each other, as more then just friends, there was all this excitement and drama going on around us. I think I projected that excitement into feelings for you. I mean we auditioned for the musical together and that was incredible, and this summer was exuberating, so I felt those things for you too. But now that things are quieter, those feelings that I thought I had for you started to disappear. Now I feel nothing.

"That's why I can't accept a promise ring from you, because I can't promise you anything right now." Gabriella looked so crushed. She obviously thought that she should accept his ring, and that she should have feelings for him, but it was not her fault that she did not. It was hard for her.

It was hard for him too. "Gabriella, you can't be serious. I gave you my heart, my word that we'd be together, for a long time. And now you're telling me that you don't feel that way about me." He sounded frustrated, angry, and even a little bit hurt.

"Yeah, I am," Gabriella squeezed his hand. "I'm glad you gave me the ring though, because it made me realize that I'm not ready for that. It also made me realize that I'm not into us anymore."

Troy nodded slowly, agreeing. He sat up leaning his elbows on his knees. "That would have hurt worse I bet. I'm glad that you trusted your feelings and told me that you don't feel anything for me anymore," Troy confessed to Gabriella. He was hurt, but he knew that she was only doing what was right. He knew that in a few weeks, maybe even a few days, he would be grateful to her honesty.

She leaned forward and hugged Troy quickly. "Thanks Troy. You're going to be okay, you know that. You'll find someone else, and hopefully that will be the one." Those words and the hug brought comfort and closure to both of them.

When Gabriella' father honked the horn of his vehicle she pulled away. "Thanks for understanding. I will call you when I get home." Troy waved as Gabriella hurried off to her car and as her family drove away.

Once Gabriella was gone he leaned back against the park bench and let out a deep breath. He felt like he had been holding it a long time. The chill of winter blew around him, and in between the layers of his clothes but he no longer cared. The cool air felt good on his burning skin and it helped block out the warm tears that slid down his cheeks.

He already knew he would get over his relationship with Gabriella. In fact, he already knew that he felt the same way she did, and later he would wonder why he thought that a promise ring was a good present in the first place. Despite knowing this, Gabriella had been a good girlfriend. She was his first kiss, his first love, and his first sex. So it still hurt to know that he was losing that part of his relationship with her.

He would miss the little things about her: kissing her first thing in the morning when he picked her up for school. He would miss the big things about her: like the way she made him a better person. He would just miss her. He would miss them.

It hurt. The feeling was not crushing, or burning. It was a gentle numbing pain that was necessary but not detrimental to his growth, or to their friendship.


	11. Chapter 11

Title: Ice Prince

Title: Ice Prince

Author: Mrpointyhorns aka Blemery

Author's Email: M

Status: WIP

Part: 11/?

Pairings: Eventually Troy/Ryan, starts with Troy/Gabby and Ryan/OC

Warnings: Slash, Tryan, abusive relationship

Spoilers: None.

Summary: Sharpay and Ryan try out for the figure skating show. Ryan catches the eye of the ice hockey's captain, but is he as really charming as he seems. Troy starts to ask questions when he realizes that he might be jealous.

Beta: Phoenixdreams

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by Disney. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended

--

Chapter 11

--

The door hit the far wall hard, after it was flung open. It nearly came back about and slammed shut in Ryan's face, but Jack stopped it with his heel as he entered the room. Ryan was unsurprised by the event, Jack tended to open and close all doors a little roughly.

Jack slumped down on his bed putting his bag down on the floor. "Shut the fucking door, Ryan," he snarled when Ryan steeped inside the room.

The blond froze just inside the room. Jack sounded beyond pissed and he had learned that, was never good. He steadied himself with a gulp and quietly shut the door. He carefully put his packages on the desk's chair. Then he moved to sit on the bed near his boyfriend. He clapped his hands together once, twisting them back and forth idly. He knew he could not escape Jack's mood, but he did not want to encourage it. It made the situation incredibly awkward but he was still unwilling to say anything. A few weeks ago, Ryan may have broken down and asked what was wrong. Now, he knew that regardless of his actions Jack would start shouting, usually saying horrible things and calling him hurtful names. Ryan wanted to prolong the silence as much as he could. So he remained on edge as he counted Jack's breaths, and listened all of his movements.

After a few terse minutes Jack said, "Well, don't you have something to say?" It was bitter and sounded hateful but it was not loud and for that Ryan was grateful. Ryan turned his upper-body towards him, looking absolutely helpless. "What do you want me to say?"

Jack's eyes widened in what looked like shock. Then he shot forward until he was in Ryan's face. He held out a finger, pointing at him accusingly. "You little slut! How dare you!"

Ryan tried to lean away, but Jack followed until he had Ryan pinned against the wall, back up toe the left side of his bed. "I-I didn't do anything," he said turning his face to the side. It helped him keep calm and unafraid.

"Ryan you're so full of it! I spent my Saturday entertaining your 'returning bad Christmas's gifts' whim. And you had the balls to flirt with that pretty salesman! You did it in front of my face you bitch! What do you have to say for yourself, whore?" Jack spat in Ryan's face, hitting his check but also getting some spit in his eyes.

Ryan's hand shook as he lifted it to wipe his face. He shuddered at the accusations Jack made. He knew that no matter what said Jack would be mad. He always twisted what he said, just so that he could have a chance to yell at Ryan. It always made Ryan feel like the biggest prick.

Not answering the question was worse. "He was helping me pick out pants; I had an in-store credit."

"You wiggled your slutty tush in his face like some sort of pornographic stripper! You might as well have shoved your dick in his mouth. Am I not a good enough boyfriend to you? I let you suck on my dick, I put up with all your _singing_ and primping, and I take you out, treat you good, with my own money! You do nothing but ruin my good name by fucking every guy who has ever looked at you twice!"

"I haven't!" Ryan argued.

"Liar! You should go live in a brothel because you're a whore! You are a worthless son of a bitch. You are such a slut. I don't even know why I waste me time on a fag like you!" Jack screamed in Ryan's face.

The blond shuttered closing his eyes trying to escape his angry boyfriend. It worked sometimes, but not today.

"What are you doing whore! Don't close your eyes. Look at me slut. Do I have to pay you? Fucking open your eyes!"

Ryan forced his blue eyes open exposing his terror to Jack. "You pitiful fairy! You're such a bitch, loser! From now on we are not going shopping, unless I say so! And you are not allowed to go without me! I don't want to find out how easy my slutty boyfriend is! Do you understand that, bitch?"

"J-Jack, that's n-not reasonable," Ryan shuttered nervously. He knew he should not talk back, but he did not want to be told what he could and could not do.

A sharp pain pierced Ryan's stomach knocking the wind out of him. His face contorted in pain. He looked down at his stomach, his hands coming to press against the pain. They collided and cupped a hard fist. Ryan's mouth fell open. Jack had hit him! Jack had punched him square in the stomach. Jack had never hit him before and it scared him. Tears filled his eyes and fell from his chin.

Jack had hit him.

It was something that Ryan had never thought would happen to him. It showed him how messed up his relationship was. It made him feel so weak and helpless. He felt like a failure. He had let this happen, even when he swore he would never let someone do this to him.

"Oh my god," Jack gasped. He sounded apologetic and soft. He reached out and cupped Ryan's face in his hands. "Ry, Ryan. I'm so-so sorry. I didn't mean it."

Ryan shuttered again. He continued to cry even as Jack rubbed away his tears. He kissed him softly and pulled Ryan into a tight embrace. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean it, you just made me so mad. I don't want to lose you. I-I love you. Ry?"

Ryan knew that he should run. He knew that he should break up with Jack. He did not do either of those things however. Instead he forgave Jack. He felt like he had to. Because he had promised himself he would not get into an abusive relationship, and leaving would only be admitting that he had made a mistake. That he had failed.

He wrapped his arms around Jack's waist and tried to calm down. He felt better when he forgave Jack. "I'm sorry too. I love you," Ryan whispered into his shoulder.


	12. Chapter 12

Title: Ice Prince

Title: Ice Prince

Author: Mrpointyhorns aka Blemery

Author's Email: M

Status: WIP

Part: 12/?

Pairings: Eventually Troy/Ryan, starts with Troy/Gabby and Ryan/OC

Warnings: Slash, Tryan, abusive relationship

Spoilers: None.

Summary: Sharpay and Ryan try out for the figure skating show. Ryan catches the eye of the ice hockey's captain, but is he as really charming as he seems. Troy starts to ask questions when he realizes that he might be jealous.

Beta: Phoenixdreams

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by Disney. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended

--

Chapter 12

--

The fans roared with cheers. The game was in its fourth quarter the teams were tied at 82 and the players were on fire.

Chad reached out to easily grab the rebound from his opponent. He successfully stole the ball from the other team and kept them from scoring. The players fanned out from below the away team's hoop. They spread out as Chad dribbled past the center line and they pulled back in as they approached the Wildcats' basket.

Chad made it to the left side of the basket but he was in no position to shoot the ball. He pivoted on his left foot seeing that Troy was his only option for a pass. He was a little further from the basket but he had an opening between players for a good shot. He heaved the ball to Troy.

The brunette had to lunge, but he caught the ball. Then he was dribbling between the others and towards the basket. He stopped to the right of the free throw line and bent his knees. He aimed and shot.

Number 14 on the other team grabbed his bicep just as the ball slipped from his fingers. It drove ball in a different direction. The ball hit the rim three times, but it finally ended up going in.

The referee blew the whistle for the foul as the crowd cheered for the slight lead. They quickly quieted when Troy took his place for the foul shots. Troy dribbled the ball twice, as he usually did, before taking his first shot. It went in. Another cheer echoed around the room.

Troy jumped up and down, the game was so close and the fans were so great. He was getting into all of the excitement. He shook his hair from his eyes and forced himself to calmly wait for the next shot.

He looked over towards his school's stands. There were so many students, parents, and fans that Troy could not pick out one person. Looking down on the court, his eye found his father's - a glint of competition in them. Troy turned his gaze to the group of cheerleaders. They were spending more time watching the game then getting the crowd into it.

Troy felt a twinge of surprise as he caught the hazel colored eyes of one of the girls on the squad. He saw her pump her fist in cheer and he saw her lips move in a yell of: "Troy!" He returned the gesture with a huge smile.

The few seconds between foul shots was over. Troy was passed the ball but he did not make the last shot. It was okay though, as they were still up by three and they were on fire.

--

Troy's hand trembled with leftover adrenaline as he pulled on a fresh shirt after the game. It was quiet in the locker room for once. The rest of the team were still in the showers.

"Great game, Son." Coach Bolton clapped his son on the shoulders. "Keep playing like that and we'll make play-offs for sure."

"Thanks, Dad. Can I-uh have the keys to the van?" Troy had his own truck but it would be a tight fit for all of his friends.

"Troy, it's still a school night." Coach Bolton reminded, but he handed Troy his keys.

"Don't worry." Troy grabbed the keys. "It's only a little party."

"Just keep an eye on Jason. Oh and that Zeke. They can't hold their drinks," Coach Bolton advised. Troy began to smile, but was cut off by a herd of naked-towel-clad basketball players.

"Troy!" Chad shook his friend by the shoulders. "We won!" A whoop went out from the other players. Everyone was so sick with excitement that once aroused they could not calm down.

Troy rolled his eyes. He smacked Chad with his towel, causing him to jump away. "Just hurry up." Chad laughed turning to his locker and doing as he was told.

Coach Bolton cleared his throat and quieted the boys briefly. "Before I go, let me say, have fun tonight. And there will be no practice tomorrow."

"Yeah!" The guys agreed with their reward for winning the game. Coach Bolton then left the locker room. He would not leave the school, until he was able to lock up.

Troy waited for his friends to get dressed before leading them to the van. Taylor joined them on their way.

"Just you, Pretty Woman?" Chad put an arm around her waist.

"Gabs went home. Everyone else will meet as there." Taylor kissed Chad's mouth briefly. "Nice job, Handsome Man."

"Hey, I was on the court, too." Troy leaned in cheek first between the pair. Chad kissed him square on the cheek. "Ugh, Chad!"

"Nice job, Handsome Man." Chad winked jokingly. "You should see what she calls me, in bed."

"No I should not." Troy held open the passenger door for Taylor. "Pretty Woman?"

Taylor jumped into the offered seat happily. Troy shut the door and turned to go around to the driver's side of the vehicle. He heard Chad yell after him, "You're lucky I like you, Bolton!" He laughed at his friend. They both knew that Troy was not a threat to Taylor. It was all just fun.

Both boys got into the van. Troy drove them, Jason, and Zeke to the party. They had to park across the street because so many students were hanging out on the lawn and driveway. It was noisy, but obviously fun.

The basketball jocks and Taylor eventually found a way inside. Everyone stopped in the kitchen to get a drink, except for Troy. Then they congregated in the living room. After a few minutes Chad and Taylor got swept in the crowd of dancers.

Troy hung back with Jason and Zeke, as both got very drunk. Zeke kept wandering off to talk to different people, but he always returned. Jason only left to get more drinks. The more they drank the less Troy found them interesting. His eyes and mind began to wander when Jason started losing to himself at beer pong.

The mass of people hanging out or dancing blurred together. Troy could hardly pick out one person from another person. He thought he caught sight of the ends of Chad's hair, toward his left, but that was about it.

Then his eyes finally focused on a young girl. She was giggling with her own friends. He stared for several minutes without realizing who she was. When she looked over at him, he realized who he she was. She was the cheerleader from earlier that night. Her friends were probably cheerleaders as well.

"Troy…Troy!" Jason snapped his fingers in front of Troy's face, finally getting his attention. "What's up?"

"Who is that?" Troy nodded towards the girl.

"Her? A cheerleader. I think?" Jason shrugged.

"I know that much."

"Hey let's ask an expert," Zeke chimed in. He had suddenly appeared from the crowd. He turned and scanned the crowd briefly. Finally he spotted who he was looking for. "Sharpay!" He hurried over to grab the girl away from her dance partner. He steered her back over to Troy and Jason.

Troy flushed from embarrassment. "Sorry Shar…"

"Don't worry about it," Sharpay smiled. She looked between Troy and Zeke before asking, "What's up?"

"Do you know anything about her?" Jason pointed to the girl in question.

"Missy? Yeah, she is a Junior and she borders on skanky. She's had over thirty boyfriends." Sharpay looked over at Troy. She smiled knowingly. "She's single now."

Troy blushed even more. He was embarrassed about seeming interested in the girl. He decided that it was best to just change the subject. "Where's Ryan?"

"Ugh, he's with Jack. He wanted to come to the game but Jack doesn't do basketball." Sharpay rolled her eyes, dramatically.

Troy frowned. He felt disappointed to hear that Ryan had not been at the game. He pushed the disappointment away with a sigh. He would not dwell on it.

"Hey Troy. Do you want to dance?" Troy startled. Standing in front of the group was Missy and her friends.

"Oh um…"

"Go on, Troy," Sharpay encouraged. "She is cute." Troy heard Zeke and Jason agree with Sharpay.

Troy finally nodded. "All right." He led Missy into the crowd of dancers. He could not hear the words of the music, but he could hear the beat so it was good enough.

Troy danced apart from Missy for a while. They smiled and had fun just dancing with the crowd. Then Troy got caught in her hazel-eyed gaze and she stepped closer. She put her hands on his shoulders moving her hips against his. Troy place his hands on her back one a little higher then the other. She was so little compared to him. It made him feel strong and brave just to be near her. He felt like she really needed him. It was so empowering.

Then she kissed the corner of his mouth. She was not so innocent, but he still wanted to feel like he was in charge. He kissed her back, dominating her easily. So he continued to feel tough. It drove him crazy.

He could not stop kissing her. It was not long before he felt like he really needed her. She felt it too. He led her to an empty bedroom. They were still kissing hard and passionately. She dug her nails into his shoulder blades. He had one hand in her hair, keeping her lips on his mouth. His other hand guided her onto the double bed under the window. The moonlight spread over her body before he crawled onto the bed with her.

He began to kiss her throat as he worked the buttons on her blouse. They stopped at her the bottom of her ribs. He pulled back the material and revealed her breasts. He pressed his hand against the lace of her left one. She threw her head back and let out a groan.

He worked his mouth against her throat until it left clear marks. She slid her hand between them and her fingers inside his zipper. She teased him with gentle touches. He had to pull his mouth away from her to catch his breath.

She worked on the button of his jeans pushing them back to work her hand on his erection. He came down to kiss her again groaning as his hips rubbed against hers. She wore a jean skirt and the thought of pulling down her panties and entering her came over him. It would be so easy. She was willing and he was hard.

"Troy?" Chad's voice broke through, before the door opened. Chad looked surprised at his friend's condition but he shook it off quickly. "The police were spotted at the end of the street and the guys are wasted. We have to go."

Troy's erection faded at the thought of the police. He kissed Missy on the mouth apologetically. "Need a ride?"

"No," Missy looked more disappointed then he did.

He nodded. Standing carefully so as not to expose himself too much, Troy carefully redressed. He headed towards the door to help Chad round up the guys.

"Troy?" He stopped looking back at Missy. She was still in the bed. She was still undressed. "Maybe another time?"

Troy nodded smiling charmingly. He hurried to help Chad after that.

"Can I get a ride with you?" Sharpay asked. She looked as drunk as the guys did, now.

"Of course." Troy gave her to Taylor. He was in charge of half carrying Jason to the van. Chad already had Zeke there when he arrived.

Sharpay went into the back with Zeke and Chad sat in the middle seat with Jason. Taylor and Troy were in the front. Jason's house was the closest so Troy drove their first. He probably would have brought him home first even if he was the farther away; he was threatening to get sick at every turn.

"Do you have a garbage bag?" Chad asked Troy just in case.

"Not my Dad," Troy explained.

"Oh shit this is your Dad's van. Hear that Jason. You'll be doing laps for a week…"

"Mmmgrrr," Zeke moaned from the back seat.

Troy looked in the review mirror. He could see a weird grin on Zeke's face, and there was no sign of Sharpay.

"Oh my god!" Chad gasped. He could see Sharpay.

"That's sick," Jason explained looking very green.

"Mmm Sharpay," Zeke moaned again closing his eyes blissfully.

Troy simply gripped the steering wheel. He chanted softly, "I will not drive into a tree."

Once Jason was gone, the ride was much better. Chad and Taylor left next. Then Zeke and finally Sharpay.

"Thanks Troy." Ryan stood in his boxers and hat staring at Sharpay who was passed out in Troy's arms.

"No problem." Troy kept his gaze on Ryan's eyes. "You should be thanking me for getting her away from Zeke, not for driving her home."

Ryan smiled. "I always figured that Sharpay was going to have sex whether I liked it or not. No matter who it is with. I stopped worrying about her chastity long ago."

"Ryan what are you doing?" Ryan jumped.

Troy's gaze snapped to behind Ryan's left shoulder. Jack wrapped an arm around Ryan's waist purposely pulling him closer. "Come back to bed."

"Troy just brought Shar home," Ryan explained.

"What a hero. Take her and lets go," Jack snipped.

Troy cleared his throat before Ryan could reply. "I don't want to wake her. I'll just bring her to bed."

Ryan stepped aside letting Troy in. Troy had been to the Evans' several times and he had been in Sharpay's room twice. It was across the hall from Ryan's.

"Troy's a nice guy, just relax." Ryan's voice faded as Troy went upstairs.

He could not help but be annoyed at Jack's rude comment. He was just happy that Ryan still thought better of him. He wished that Jack was not always around. Troy never saw Ryan anymore unless it was with Jack. Troy always felt so awkward around the other jock. Like at the door, as soon as Jack appeared the camaraderie that he shared with Ryan was gone. What was Jack doing at the Evans' this late at night? - It was silly, but when Troy realized what Jack was doing there, he almost dropped Sharpay.

Jack was there because he was sleeping with Ryan. Of course he was. They had been dating for months and they were both teenage boys. Troy almost just had sex with a girl he had only just met.

Troy felt so embarrassed about not realizing about Jack and Ryan. He also felt ashamed that he almost jumped into the sack with a stranger, that he had slept with a stranger in the past. There was also this very overwhelming emotion that told him to get the hell out of there. Troy barely tucked Sharpay in before he bolted away from the house. He did not have time to register that Ryan was no longer at the front door.


	13. Chapter 13

Title: Ice Prince

Title: Ice Prince

Author: Mrpointyhorns aka Blemery

Author's Email: M

Status: WIP

Part: 13/?

Pairings: Eventually Troy/Ryan, starts with Troy/Gabby and Ryan/OC

Warnings: Slash, Tryan, abusive relationship

Spoilers: None.

Summary: Sharpay and Ryan try out for the figure skating show. Ryan catches the eye of the ice hockey's captain, but is he as really charming as he seems. Troy starts to ask questions when he realizes that he might be jealous.

Beta: Phoenixdreams

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by Disney. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended

--

Chapter 13

--

Ryan leaped into the air and spun about, a huge grin stuck on his face. "I am free!" He belted out in song. He held out the last note until it rang through the room for several minutes after he stopped singing. Then he turned around to face the orchestra pit. He had an expectant look on his face.

"That was great, Ryan," Kelsi gushed. She hurried over to the panting blond. "I was worried that I gave you the musical too late but the choreography is wonderful."

"The little notes in the margins helped," Ryan teased her with a smile.

Kelsi had given Ryan the musical's script at the beginning of the year. The choreography needed to be down by February. Auditions would start the second week of that month, and then practices would begin the third week. Everything had to be ready in time for the auditions. Ryan was just glad that Jack was so busy with hockey. His boyfriend gave him permission to help Kelsi while he had practice, but he refused to compete for Ryan's time. So it was only during hockey practice that Ryan was able to work on the dance moves.

"You should be thanking me for keeping Sharpay from snooping."

"I apologize for anything that Sharpay has tried, but risking her getting a sneak peak is worth getting my star choreographer," Kelsi complimented. Ryan blushed brilliantly.

"RYAN! What the hell are you doing?" Jack's loud yell echoed from the auditorium's door. Ryan froze. His body and mind went into straight shock. He could not even turn to look at Jack. He knew that Jack was pissed. He was not exactly sure what he had done, but he knew better not to question him. Not that he was capable of questioning him.

Jack stormed over to the stage. He had his bag of hockey gear hanging over his left shoulder. He had to climb on the stage making his pursuit clumsily and not at all scary. But he still wore a dark scowl. He was still pissed.

"What the hell is this? I let you help with this stupid shit! Because you said it was fun and that you were lonely when I had to practice. Now I see why you were lonely! Is this what you call fun? Flirting with little bitches!" Jack yelled at Ryan the young man only shivered and shook. He could not even think about how embarrassing it was to have Kelsi in the room with them. "ANSWER ME!"

"I-I I'm sorry," Ryan submitted. He had to speak even though it felt like his throat was closed, he had managed something,

"You're sorry? You're fucking SORRY!" Jack yelled. "So you admit it. You admit what you did. You slimly little slut!"

"Jack don't," Ryan pleaded but it was no use.

"No, Ryan you don't. I had enough of your games. I deserve better than you. So keep your bitch, have fun in your musical. I'm through," Jack swore.

"Jack," Ryan whimpered. It was too late however; Jack had already walked out of the room.

"Ryan, I'm sorry." Kelsi shivered. She was always a positive energy and she felt guilty about getting in the middle of everything. But she was not sure if she was sorry about the break up, or how it happened.

"I-I oh god." Ryan trembled. He felt like he was on top of a cliff with a rock wall to the other side of him. All he knew was that he would jump or starve. Jack always told him that he was nothing without him. Ryan was starting to understand what he had meant.

"I have to go," Ryan stated. He grabbed his bag and bolted out of the auditorium. He left in the same direction that he had seen Jack leave.

The hockey player's car was still in the parking lot. Ryan ran towards it. He knew he had to find Jack and apologize. He needed Jack to take him back. He began to slow when he noticed Jack was waiting outside his car. Was he waiting for Ryan? "Jack, I didn't do anything with Kelsi. She said that she liked my choreography. I'm sorry I upset you just please don't leave me. I'm nothing with out you."

"Get in the car," Jack pulled open the door. Ryan hurried to get in. Jack then went around to his side of the car. Without saying a word Jack started the car and pulled out of the parking lot. He sat stone cold for nearly the entire drive to his house.

"You're done," he finally said. His eyes were still on the road, his body language was tense.

"I'm done?" Ryan's curiosity made him turn to look at Jack. Immediately he turned away looking Jack in the eye was not in his best interest.

"No more choreography, no more Kelsi, and no more musicals," Jack said matter-of-factly.

"What? Jack, I've done the musical for so many years. I can't just quit." Ryan felt a sting of pain, worse then any physical blow.

"How else can I trust you? After what I just saw, I can't. So you choose." He spoke calmly, but Jack's eyes flashed with pure aggression.

Ryan nodded nervously. "All right. I wouldn't do the musical. I am done."

Jack came to a harsh stop in his drive way. He took a deep breath in and let it out slowly. Then he turned to face Ryan. "I'm sorry, Ryan. But this is how it has to be."

"I understand." Ryan confessed, even though he did not.


	14. Chapter 14

Title: Ice Prince

Title: Ice Prince

Author: Mrpointyhorns aka Blemery

Author's Email: M

Status: WIP

Part: 14/?

Pairings: Eventually Troy/Ryan, starts with Troy/Gabby and Ryan/OC

Warnings: Slash, Tryan, abusive relationship

Spoilers: None.

Summary: Sharpay and Ryan try out for the figure skating show. Ryan catches the eye of the ice hockey's captain, but is he as really charming as he seems. Troy starts to ask questions when he realizes that he might be jealous.

Beta: Phoenixdreams

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by Disney. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended

--

Chapter 14

--

Missy was not the head cheerleader, but because she had spent a night almost being with Troy Bolton, she felt like she should have been. That's why she approached Troy and his friends at lunch. Troy blushed and pretended that he did not notice.

Chad nudged Troy in the side and Jason looked like he did not know where he had seen the girl before. Besides that no one acknowledged her.

"Hey Troy," Missy said. She flipped her hair over her shoulder.

"Oh Missy? Oh hi," Troy tried to sound normal but he knew that he came off as awkward.

"I know we were interrupted the last time we were together, but I was thinking that we could try again." Missy giggled. She twisted a strand of hair between her fingers.

Jason, Chad, Zeke, and the other basketball players sitting at the table turned to look at Troy. She was not an ugly looking girl, but she was not the prettiest either. But she offered what most girls would not.

After Troy's realization at the Evan's house, he had avoided Missy as best as he could. He had managed to stay busy and away for more than two weeks, but now he would have to let her down.

"Listen Missy, I probably would have gone all the way with you, that night. But that is not the sort of relationship I want," Troy explained. He was a nice guy, and he did not want to hurt her feelings.

"So, you're saying…" Missy looked very confused, but brightened after a short pause. "That you want to go steady?"

"Go steady?" Troy repeated. He had never heard of the term before. He looked at Chad for help.

"Yes! Yes, Troy. I will go out with you." Missy clapped her hands together enthusiastically, probably a side effect from so many years of cheerleading.

"What? Missy, I didn't…"

"We'll go out tonight okay? Pick me up at seven, sharp."

That was how Missy the regular varsity cheerleader found herself dating Troy Bolton. First, she told everyone that she knew. Then, she made a list of all the clothes in her closet before figuring out what she would wear. The third thing that she did, was to make sure that everyone in school knew about her and Troy. Then, she went home and shaved every hair from her neck to her toes. Then she showered, did her hair and make up, finally, she dressed. She even managed to get some homework done while she waited for seven to come around.

Troy was five minutes late, and it was perfect. He said hello to her family and opened his truck door for her.

"Where do you want to go?" Troy smiled.

He looked so unsure of himself and Missy thought it was adorable. "Lets go to dinner and then to a movie."

Troy took over from there. They went to Fazoli's an Italian restaurant that bordered on fast food. It was only a first date, after all. Missy ordered a salad and Troy got a three-meat lasagna.

They ate in near silence. They barely knew each other and had very little in common. Missy did start to talk about her love of shopping, but Troy was most interested in his food.

Then Troy took Missy to a scary thriller movie. Missy cuddled into him during the most intense scenes. Troy blushed when she called him her hero. The movie was anti-climatic, but Missy had a good time.

When they returned to Troy's truck it was getting late. The temperature had dropped considerably so Missy had to rub her bare arms until the heater came on.

"Is there anything else that you want to do?" Troy asked.

"Let's go somewhere and fuck." Missy suggested nonchalantly.

Troy slammed on his brake. "What?"

"It's okay Troy. I have condoms." Missy assured. "If your parents are home we can just do it in here."

"Missy…are you sure?" Troy asked. He seemed unsure, but Missy knew he was willing, all boys were.

"Yup," Missy smiled brilliantly.

So they had sex. They pulled Troy's car over and did it. His jeans at his ankles her shirt still on. Then he brought her home.

The next afternoon between school and practice, they had sex again. They did it in Troy's living room, on his mother's couch. He would not be able to sit on it for three weeks.

Friday, Troy refused sex because of the game that night. It was away though, so Missy sucked him off on the bus ride home.

Saturday, they had sex three times. At 11 am she came over and Troy's Mom let her in his room. They fucked on his bed for the first time. At nine pm there was a party down the street. Troy and Missy found an empty room, by ten. Then she snuck him in her bedroom window and they did it before the clock struck midnight.

Sunday morning Troy went to Church with her family. They went into the Bible study room and she rode him through second service. Then they went to the pastor's house for lunch. They defiled the man's bed.

On Monday, they had a quickie before the victory assembly. They both had practice that afternoon so they did not see each other until Tuesday.

She found him sweaty and shooting baskets. He waved to her and then he fucked her on the free-throw line.

It was most sex filled week of his life. But it was over on Wednesday. She broke up with him, before school in front of everyone.

"You just don't satisfy me anymore. Variety is the spice of life and I'm sorry but it's over," Missy explained.

"Wait you're breaking up with me." Honestly Troy had never meant for the relationship to start. He was just too nice, and after the first date he was just too horny. Now she was saying goodbye to him without any trouble.

"Sorry," Missy walked away without turning around.

"Tough break," Jason was the first to break the silence. Then the student body roared with gossip.

"She's a total slut anyway." Sharpay said. She had shown up when she spotted major gossip going down.

"Like that makes me feel better," Troy said. He sighed in exasperation. He did not feel bad about Missy leaving. He just hated being dumped.

"Hey everyone step off, my bro," Chad waved the crowd of friends, on-lookers, and Sharpay away. "Come on man."

"Thanks." Troy followed Chad to his locker and then to homeroom.

The rest of Troy's day was a drag. Everyone knew that he was dumped by the trashiest Cheerleader at East high. No one would give him a break. Even his math teacher gave him a 10 break-up boost on the pop quiz. It was not embarrassing as much as it was annoying. He wanted to deal with this loss on his own. But instead he was continuously reminded of it. It resulted in one of his worst practices ever. He even managed to break a rafter window. The wind swirled in so fast, loud, and cold that it caused a few lights to shatter. Needless to say practice was called to an abrupt end.

"Don't feel bad, Troy." Chad pulled on his shirt. Troy was still in his towel. He had his elbows on his knees. He felt bad about the practice.

"I didn't even like her. I just didn't know how to say no to her. What kind of guy says no to a pretty girl that's willing?" Troy sighed. He was glad it was just him and Chad. He felt like he could open up and vent.

"You would," Chad sat down to lace up his shoes. "Gabriella was the first and only girl I really saw you interested in. My first girlfriend was at the age of 12. My first kiss was 13."

"Yeah that's right." Troy frowned. He twiddled his thumbs. "Is something wrong with me?"

"Honestly, until Gabriella came around, I accepted the fact that you were probably gay." Chad smiled softly. He did not want to offend Troy. He just wanted to be honest.

"You think that I am gay?" Troy did not feel offended.

"Probably, I thought maybe Gabriella really proved me wrong. That she was just 'the one'," Chad explained.

"She was my first love. She wasn't the one." Troy sighed. He stood up and began to dress. It was getting chilly wearing just a towel.

"Hey if you are gay, it's okay with me. You're still my best friend." Chad reassured.

"What if I don't know?" Troy asked.

"Then there is nothing wrong with making sure. There are guys in this school that would cut their balls off to be with you." Chad smiled encouraging Troy to explore his sexuality.

"Kinda doesn't help me experiment if they're castrated," Troy pointed out. It was a needed joke. The topic was too serious for two boys. "I have slept with a guy." Troy shut his locker. He turned around to gage Chad's reaction.

Chad looked surprised. Troy did not keep many secrets from him. When he did they were always big. "And?"

"I was really drunk. It all happened pretty fast. He said I needed to figure out what I want before I jumped into situations like that." Troy grabbed his bag and followed Chad towards the parking lot.

"Well you stand in the curious boat, that is if you do attempt to find out if you're gay or not. Just realize it's going to be easier now then twenty years from now." Chad tried to help.

"Thanks." Troy filed the conversation away to think about later. They were at his truck now and their discussion was over. "Want to get a pizza?"

"Totally," Chad agreed.


	15. Chapter 15

Title: Ice Prince

Author: Mrpointyhorns aka Blemery

Author's Email: M

Status: WIP

Part: 15/?

Pairings: Eventually Troy/Ryan, starts with Troy/Gabby and Ryan/OC

Warnings: Slash, Tryan, abusive relationship

Spoilers: None.

Summary: Sharpay and Ryan try out for the figure skating show. Ryan catches the eye of the ice hockey's captain, but is he as really charming as he seems. Troy starts to ask questions when he realizes that he might be jealous.

Beta: Phoenixdreams

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by Disney. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended

--

Chapter 15

It had been raining all night making pitter-patting noises on roof tops and window panes. It was lured even the insomniacs into a deep sleep. They snuggled into their covers and peacefully slept. The rainy weather was great for a good night sleep, but it was terrible to get up to.

It was darker outside then usual because of the clouds that blotted out the sky. The air was undeniably colder then usual. It was the sort of day that made most people wanted to call in sick. Instead, the students, teachers, and staff, of East High dragged themselves out of bed and rushed to their hot showers or caffeinated beverages to help them start the day.

Ryan had no problem getting up that day however, his sister Sharpay made an unexpected appearance in his room that morning. She turned on the over head lights and sang cheerfully, "Sign-ups are this morning! Get up! Get up! Get up!" Then she hurried out of his room. She uncharacteristically wanted to be to school early to be the first one to sign up. She wanted her brother to be second to sign up. The only problem was that Ryan was not going to sign up this year. Since his promise to Jack he had not found a way to tell Sharpay. By the end of today, she would know whether he told her or not.

After that it was hard for Ryan to drag himself out of bed. It was hard for him to shower, and he dare not eat. As he dressed and got ready for school, he felt his insides twirl and twist until his entire abdomen was one huge, hard, knot. He absolutely hated the idea of not signing up for the musical that year. He knew that Kelsi had designed the musical for him and the others in mind. He knew he was going to let down so many people and it made him sick. But he felt like he had no other choice. Jack made it clear that there was no other alternative and Ryan was not going to go against his word. He feared that if he did Jack would go further then just break up with him.

He flinched visibly. He had stopped looking at himself in the mirror about a month ago. At first, he did not want to look at the bruises and marks that Jack left on his torso and chest. He did not hit Ryan often, at first. Lately, Ryan could set Jack off with the slightest twitch. It stopped being a single blow too. One time Jack punched him seventeen times, he kicked him four, and he kneed him twice. Jack was always very sorry afterwards.

Ryan was never angry though. He always blamed himself and not Jack. It was his fault that Jack was angry, and if it was not his fault, then it was his fault that he stayed in an abusive relationship with Jack. It was not because of the shame he felt about the situation that he put himself in that Ryan no longer looked in the mirror.

Today was no difference, but it was not for the usual reasons. He knew if he looked in the mirror today that he would be repulsed by who he saw. He felt like he might become physically sick seeing the empty, pathetic excuse for a human. He had somehow found himself in this corrupt relationship with another boy, and for the life of him he could not figure out how to get out of it. He did not even know how to call for help. Because of how pathetic he was, he was losing one of the things he loved to do. One of the things that made him love who he was.

He was afraid.

All of human action and emotions come from two key things; love and fear. Humans naturally try to run to love and away from fear. In Ryan's case however love and fear were coming from the same source. He was confused. He could not act naturally. So he suffered under fear hoping that he could receive love. It was paralyzing. He lived everyday terrified.

He lost all control of the situation because most of the time he could not tell what set Jack off. He could never predict the outcome of any of his actions, so most of the time he was unable to do anything at all. Getting out of the situation was just one of those times. He could no longer save himself, or called someone to help him. He was stuck.

So he slipped to school without Sharpay noticing him leave. He watched from a distance when Miss. Darbus stepped out of her office and hung the sign-up list on the bulletin board. He could not help but smile when Sharpay directed the group of on lookers on who should sign up first. Sharpay followed by Gabriella, then Troy and finally: "Where's Ryan."

Ryan slipped away after that. He went to his first period class. He was just a little happy that none of his friends where in the class, and that Jack was also not in his class. He knew he could not handle seeing either right now. Instead he spent the entire class staring out the window at the rain. Luckily he was in English Literature class and they were watching a film on the book they had just finished reading.

He knew he could not hope to be left alone the entire day, and he was not surprised when Sharpay cornered him in the hall after his class. "What's this about not doing the musical, Kelsi told me you quit on her half way through the choreography, and now you're quitting on me too?"

Ryan gathered his courage and carefully answered Sharpay. He knew whatever the answer it would land him in Sharpay's bad list. "I'm done with musicals, singing, and choreography. I'm sure they'll find someone else to play along side of you."

"R_ya_n! What is this about? Is it because I over shadow you? Are you still mad about what happened this summer? I can't believe you would give of musicals. And singing!" Sharpay questioned her younger brother. She knew him better then this. She was not ready to quit on his talents.

"I can't," Ryan said so softly that Sharpay could not even hear him. She just saw his lips move and understood what he meant. His shoulders were slumped and his head was hung, but he was serious about his choice.

"Okay, Ryan if that's what you want." Sharpay knew there was no point in arguing anymore. She paused in her usual behavior for just a little longer and reached out to touch Ryan's limp shoulder. "I'm here for you."

She told him that, but then she squeezed his shoulder and walked away. Ryan knew that she did not mean it. She never had. At least, Ryan thought, she tried. She wanted to be there for him, and he loved her for that, but it could not help him.

Only one other person approached him about the sign up after that. Ryan was a little surprised to see Troy waiting for him after school. Ryan was sure that he had successfully cut Troy permanently out of his life, but it obviously was not so.

Ryan shuffled around to his locker and began preparing his bag for what he would need at home that night. He knew that Jack had hockey practice after school, but he was not going to take that chance that Jack might be able to smell Troy on him later. Jack hated Troy. He was not about to provoke Jack with him.

"Sharpay said that you can't do the musical this year." Troy blatantly ignore Ryan's cold shoulder. If Troy ever chose the dark side, he would make an excellent bully.

"I'm done doing musicals." Ryan found himself shaking as he reached for his math book inside his locker. He did not hide the fact. He let his hand hover in the air outside of his locker for several minutes waiting for Troy to leave or reply.

"I don't like what's going on Ryan. I know there is something you are not telling us. I have never seen you act so…so…this! Ever! Tell me what's going on? Is it…" Troy looked away, down the hall like he was checking the coast. Then lowering the sound of his voice, even though the two of them were alone, Troy continued, "Jack?"

Ryan did not know what to say or do. Troy was the first person to ask if he was having trouble with Jack. He was pretty sure that Kelsi had not told the others about what she had seen in the auditorium. Ryan had no idea when Troy would have noticed something was wrong. He was always so busy with golf, basketball and girlfriends. Girlfriends, yeah.

Softly Ryan replied, "It's nothing."

"Ryan I want to help you." Troy expressed. He made no move to reach out to him like Sharpay did but Ryan knew that Troy was being more sincere then she had been, but was it sincere enough? Probably not.

He whirled around and looked Troy right in the eyes. He pointed an accusing finger in Troy's face. "What's it to you? I said it was nothing. I would check your own problems in relationships Troy before you go around nosing into mine!" Ryan slammed his locker shut, leaving all of his things behind and he stormed away from Troy.

He was not going to play any games with Troy. Unless he could be sure that the other boy really wanted to help him Ryan could not open up to him about what was going on. He had no doubt that telling someone else about what Jack had been doing to him would cause for serious punishment and Ryan was not about to risk that for a probably not.

As he walked away the knot in his gut getting even worse Ryan realized that he may have thrown away his only chance of getting away from Jack. He totally blew it. Maybe he did deserve Jack and everything he did to him.

"Fuck."

It was still raining when he got home that night. It was perfect because it fit his mood. Cold, wet, and sick. He still dressed in his school pants he crawled under the covers and felt the only kind of safety he still knew how to get.


	16. Chapter 16

Title: Ice Prince

Author: Mrpointyhorns aka Blemery

Author's Email: M

Status: WIP

Part: 16/?

Pairings: Eventually Troy/Ryan, starts with Troy/Gabby and Ryan/OC

Warnings: Slash, Tryan, abusive relationship

Spoilers: None.

Summary: Sharpay and Ryan try out for the figure skating show. Ryan catches the eye of the ice hockey's captain, but is he as really charming as he seems. Troy starts to ask questions when he realizes that he might be jealous.

Beta: Phoenixdreams

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by Disney. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended

--

Chapter 16

Troy now had two problems on his hands. The first problem, figuring out whether he was gay or not, would be life altering. The only way he could easily make a decision would be to test out the waters. Troy was not going to start proposition other guys. He could never be certain that another guy would be interested. Until he could be, Troy would have to sit on that problem.

His second problem was less pressing, but it concerned Troy a great deal. He was worried about Ryan, increasingly. After first seeing a private moment between Ryan and his boyfriend after the ice skating performance, Troy wondered if Jack was a good guy. Since then, Troy witnessed different states of fear, anxiety, and desperation from Ryan.

When he asked Ryan if he needed help, Ryan denied needing any. Except he hesitated, and then he became extremely defensive, clear indications that he did need help. The only reason Troy stopped himself from helping anyway, was the fact that no one else seemed to notice anything wrong. Troy felt like he had fathomed the problems and Ryan's cry for help.

Troy's conscious was eating at him, however. He knew things were not right. He felt like his thoughts and actions were conflicting, and as with most people his thoughts and actions could only conflict for so long. Since his thoughts of concern were increasing, Troy decided he needed to act, but he also needed to be cautious. He decided to use his tryout and rehearsal time to investigate his concern further. This way, at least, he was able to work on one of his problems.

He started with Gabriella. He was trying out with her again, and he felt the strongest connection to her. He still had a few hard feelings from their split, but she was still a close friend.

They used her living room to rehearse. Kelsi recommended using the fourth song in the play as their try-out piece when the prince and the milk maid first lay eyes on each other. They had already learned the lyrics, and the melody. They were now fine-tuning their voices, facial expressions, and chemistry.

"I think we have this down Troy. A few more practices this week and we will be ready for Thursday's tryouts," Gabriella said. She sat down on the couch and smiled. They had already practiced for twenty minutes. It was an easy time to take a short break, before launching into a new round. "You're voice is much stronger."

"I had a few voice lessons since last year. Not many, just a few, but I hoped they'd help me sound less amateurish. You have more confidence then before," Troy complimented. He sat down on the over-sized chair at her left.

"I'm still nervous about getting on stage. I researched stage freight in celebrities, and I found some techniques that work. And none of them include picturing the audience naked. Deep breathing mostly, and really working to get in character. My character would not be afraid to be on stage, simply because she is not on stage." Gabriella explained. It was working for her and that made both seniors happy.

An awkward silence fell between them. Troy was trying to figure out how to word his thoughts about Ryan. He did not want to accuse Jack of anything. He simply wanted to know what Gabriella's opinion was.

"What's on your mind?" Gabriella asked after a few minutes of silence. "You seem out of it, today."

"Well, I've been thinking about Ryan. At the beginning of the year he was eager to do the winter musical, but now he's quit," Troy explained. He narrowed his eyes as he tried to think and talk at the same time.

"Troy, I was sort of wondering about that, too," Gabriella began. Troy sat up straight and looked at her curiously. "Are you uncomfortable, or angry that Ryan is gay?"

"No way! Why would I be?" Troy asked. He felt shocked hearing Gabriella's accusation.

"Every time someone brings him up, you get really fidgety. I can see that you don't want to be angry or uncomfortable but it's okay. Sometimes it takes some time to get used to looking at someone in a new way." Gabriella placed a warm hand on his, squeezing it.

"Why would I look at Ryan any differently? He hasn't changed; I mean other then quitting the musical." Troy pulled away from Gabriella. He appreciated the support that she felt that she was giving, but he was a little uncomfortable with it. Besides, being completely off the mark now Troy could not ask Gabriella what she thought about Ryan and Jack. She would not see anything different about Ryan, other than the fact that he was gay. Also, she may believe that Troy was asking about it because he was angry and uncomfortable. He did not want give her the wrong impression.

"Let's get back to practicing," Troy said, hoping that the conversation was over once he stood up.

--

Then he asked Kelsi. It was not part of his plan, but the conversation had suddenly come up during practice a few weeks later. Ms. Darbus had Gabriella and Sharpay on stage rehearsing their joint scene.

Troy and the other members of the cast were sitting out, practicing in groups or learning their lines. Troy went to ask Kelsi about a chord after several minutes of struggling on his own.

The pianist was sitting in front of her craft, behind stage. She had a hand over her mouth, covering a grimace. She was looking at the closed curtain, clearly listening to Sharpay and Gabriella's practicing.

"Kelsi," Troy tapped her gently on the shoulder. The young playwright jumped off her bench and to her feet. "Sorry."

"Don't be. I was just…" she glanced to the curtain again, before turning back to Troy. "Did you need something?"

"I had a question at this part right here," Troy pointed to his script as he handed it to her.

She hardly glanced at it, immediately seeing the problem. "I wrote this part with Ryan in mind actually. It's for the stronger voice, but since Brian was cast for your intended role and you were cast in this one it doesn't work as well."

Troy frowned. He could admit to himself that Ryan was a more experienced singer, and that he also had a better range then Troy had, but he could not admit that to anyone else.

"Can I get this part back to you tomorrow? I'm going to have to go over the entire script but I don't think there should be anymore problems," Kelsi asked.

"Of course," Troy agreed knowing that she would change it whether he agreed or not. She sat down at the piano and immediately started to work. Troy sat down on the bench beside her to watch.

She often turned to ask him to sing any changes she made as she went along. She was really nice about it everything even though she continued to be unsatisfied with the result. Troy frowned felling a bit guilty, if he was a little more practiced like Ryan nothing would need to be changed and Kelsi would not have to be so critical of herself.

"I'm sorry about this," Troy said after a while.

Kelsi looked up, a little surprised that he spoke without being spoken to. "What's wrong?"

"I'm not as goo- I'm not Ryan," Troy said without admitting that Ryan was better trained then he was.

Kelsi smiled softly. "Ryan is a dream. If I had messed up his part, he would easily know how to fix it. Sharpay has the same training he does, but she just doesn't have the ear for it. Don't be sorry, Troy."

"I wonder why he didn't want to try out anyway," Troy said off-handily.

"He's in love," Kelsi said with a sigh.

"Did he tell you that?" Troy asked a little confused.

"Not is so many words, but he quit the musical to spend more time with Jack. He's in love." Kelsi sighed again. "You should know what that feels like. You joined the musical because you were in love."

"I joined the musical because it was something that I liked to do. No one ever let me see that before, is all. Gabriella and I were not in love." Troy ended his explanation softly. Up until that point he thought he had been in love with Gabriella. He knew he still loved her, but he also realized that he was not _in _love with her.

"Then you must not know what love looks like," Kelsi said. She picked up her pencil and returned to editing Troy's part. Possibly, Kelsi was right, how could she write beautiful romances, if she did not know what love was. Troy had no experience in love so maybe he could not see love when it existed. Maybe he was wrong about Ryan after all. He still worried.

--

The last person he asked was Sharpay. She knew Ryan better then anyone else in their class. So if she could not see something wrong with her brother then maybe there was nothing wrong with him.

"Sharpay can I talk to you," Troy cut the blonde off after their dress rehearsal.

She did not seem upset in the least. She smiled pleasantly to him and took his arm, "Of course you can Troy. The stars are always allowed to talk to the other stars."

She led him by the hand to her dressing room. She had her own private dressing room, not because the school had more then one, or because her father had money, but because she had scared the other girls away. She sat down in front of one of the mirrors and began removing her stage make-up.

Troy stared as Sharpay pulled off her fake eyelashes, her mouth hung open just so. It was weird. Troy shivered and began to speak. "Sharpay…"

"Oh don't mind me, go on talk," she continued her task at hand, and Troy sat down on a trunk full of wigs. He turned so that he could only see her from the corner of his eyes, just in case she decided to undress.

"Well, it's just about…"

The door to the dressing room opened, Brian stepped in and moved over to the second chair in the room. "Brian you have to work on that tenor it was a little flat today," Sharpay scolded the other boy. Brian was a sophomore he had straight blond hair and blue eyes. Sharpay adopted him during the sign-ups. She took him under her wing and taught him everything he needed to know. Now his hats matched the color of his pants.

"Sorry, Sharpay," Brian looked over at Troy and wiggled his fingers, 'hello'. Troy nodded his head to the younger boy.

"Well you're going to make me look bad if you sound like that on Friday night, Saturday afternoon, Saturday night, or Sunday afternoon, you hear. So work on it," Sharpay turned back to the mirror. "What were you saying Troy?"

Troy gave Brian an apologetic look, but the blond was already working on removing his make-up, at least the guys did not have fake eyelashes. Troy turned back to Sharpay. "It's about Ryan."

"Ryan who?" Sharpay turned to look at Troy. The left side of her face was clean of make-up, but the right was still caked with the stuff. It was the best look on Sharpay. Top the look with a heated glare and Troy should have known to just drop it then.

"Stop it Sharpay. Ever since your brother quit the musical you refuse to acknowledge his existence, but he's still your brother. If you stopped feeling sorry for yourself for a minute you might notice that something is wrong with him." Troy took his role of protagonist really seriously.

Sharpay stood up, folding her arms over her chest. "There is nothing wrong with Ryan. He's so deliriously happy I don't even see him anymore. This isn't about a musical Troy. It was never about a fucking musical. Ryan's my brother, but he might as well be a stranger. I'm just trying to cope."

Troy flinched. He knew he had been too harsh, but Sharpay responded like she normally would. She answered his question as well. Ryan was happy, Troy had been wrong. "I'm sorry."

She flipped her hair over her shoulder and sat down shaking her head. "Don't worry yourself over silly things like that. Chalk it up to pre-show nerves."

He smiled. She was not so bad in small doses. He headed to the door ready to concern himself on his real problem.

"Stop staring at Troy. He's way out of your league," Sharpay hissed at Brian before Troy had let go of the door. He hesitated but did not allow himself to turn around. He did not want Sharpay or Brian to know he had heard what he had, but since he had, maybe he could actually work on his other problem.

--

Friday night, at the first showing of the musical Troy, watched as actors, stage hands, and techs all ran around in circles as they prepared to go on stage. Troy was ready, he had been hours ago. Besides himself, only Sharpay remained calm, she was practicing scales like it was any other day of the week. He was the least nervous, after a lifetime of basketball games and tournaments he thrived on pressure.

So instead of worrying he set his sights on something else, Brian. After watching him walk circles into the floor, Troy made his move. He stalked over like a predator after a meal. He stopped in front of the teenager while he was pacing away from him. Brian did an about turn and ran smack into Troy.

"Can I get you to help me with something?" Troy asked. Brian's jaw fell open but he nodded despite himself. Troy motioned for Brian to follow and the other lead did so. Troy led Brian to the rest of the male casts' dressing room and over to the dressing rack. He thumbed through the costumes but stopped on none of them. He was waiting for Brian to take the next step.

Brian did just as Troy hoped. After several minutes of waiting, he spoke up, "What did you need?"

"I need you to stop fretting over opening night," Troy looked up, his hands holding still on a blue costume.

He saw Brian swallow and nod in agreement. "But how can I do that?"

"Different people handle pressure in different ways. I was hoping I could help you tonight, by giving you something else to trouble over." Troy smiled brilliantly. Brian urged him to continue by nodding his head. "Can I take you out after the performance on Sunday? Tonight the cast goes to IHOP after the show, tomorrow Sharpay will hold the cast and crew party, but Sunday we're free men."

Brian's eyes bugged out of his skull. Troy hoped he never played poker. He pointed at Troy and opened and closed his mouth a few times. Troy waited patiently. "But, Sharpay said…"

"Sharpay says you were looking at me the other day. I hope she wasn't wrong about that, too." Troy put on a pout that could move mountains.

"She wasn't. I was looking. Who wouldn't? Are you certain?" Brian gushed.

"Its only _one _date," Troy clarified. He did not want to bring up the fact that he was not certain if he was gay, straight, bisexual, or any other sexuality.

Brian finally seemed to sober. He looked Troy right in the eye and repeated, "only one date?" Troy nodded. "Okay."

"I'm glad you said that." Troy would have said more but he and Brian were interrupt when Ms. Darbus came to tell them that they had five minutes until the curtain was raised.


	17. Chapter 17

Title: Ice Prince

Author: Mrpointyhorns aka Blemery

Author's Email: M

Status: WIP

Part: 17/?

Pairings: Eventually Troy/Ryan, starts with Troy/Gabby and Ryan/OC

Warnings: Slash, Tryan, abusive relationship

Spoilers: None.

Summary: Sharpay and Ryan try out for the figure skating show. Ryan catches the eye of the ice hockey's captain, but is he as really charming as he seems. Troy starts to ask questions when he realizes that he might be jealous.

Beta: Phoenixdreams

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by Disney. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended

--

Chapter 17

He knew he was in big trouble as he approached the parking lot. Jack was standing against his car, his school jacket on over a loose shirt and equally as baggy pants. He held his hockey stick in one hand and tapped it in rhythm into the palm of his hand. He held Ryan's gaze the minute he had left the building. A sick smirk was on his face.

Not wanting to look like a coward, Ryan approached. His hands were shaking so bad that he had to put them inside his jean pocket to make them stop. His legs were shivering so much, Ryan tripped without falling several times on the way over to his angry boyfriend. He knew why Jack was mad. He almost had every right to be a little angry about this, but Ryan knew that he was not a little angry. That's why this was all wrong.

"Get in the fucking car faggot," Jack said when Ryan came with in speaking distance. The blond flinched at the rotten name, but did as he was told. Jack jumped behind the wheel and gunned it out of the parking lot.

--

It had all started earlier that week. Basketball was long over, and the school Musical was in the last issue of the school's newspaper. That only meant one thing, spring sports. Ryan had promised himself after that he would do at least one thing he had planned on at the beginning of the year. So he signed up for the baseball tryouts early one morning before anyone could tell him not to.

Tryouts were four days long, cuts were made three times, and the final team would be announced on the Friday after the tryouts. Ryan had not whispered a word about this to Jack. He knew Jack would be busy for the first two tryouts. He and his buddies played Lacrosse in the spring so he was on the other field's tryout for his own team. Ryan was free to make the team and as long as he did he knew there was nothing his boyfriend could really do to prevent it.

This first day of tryouts was embarrassing. The entire group of would-be players laughed at him when they noticed him on the field. Even Coach Bolton raised an eyebrow and asked if he was certain this was where he wanted to be. Ryan was.

Coach started them off with endurance training. It was no use looking at players if they could not keep up. Ryan excelled in this area. Anyone who had gone through the dance training he and Sharpay went through would be able to compete against any normal High School athlete. He was not the fastest or the one with the most endurance but he stood out as on of the top.

That was half of the first day's practice, the second half they worked on a simple game of throw and catch. Again there was no point in continuing to tryout if a person could not participate in a game of throw and catch. They worked on the regular game, the pop-ups, and the grounders.

Ryan was about average when it came to catching, but he had an excellent arm. He had been a pitcher in little league, but had never had the chance to over throw his arm, so he was fresher then other pitchers who had injured their arms in the past six years. He had also had a chance to strength his arm and shoulder muscles. As a male dancer he lifted many of his female partners. He also needed to look good in his costumes so he was encouraged to workout as much as possible. Many of the players that had previously laughed at him for showing up had a change of opinion. Chad had even complimented him when he ran passed him on the way back to the locker room.

--

Ryan cringed when he heard all the doors lock in the car. It meant that Jack was not planning to let Ryan out until he was finished with him.

He spared a glance at his lover; his knuckles were white as they gripped the wheel. His eyes bugged out of his head and the whites of his eyes were actually blood red. The veins in his neck pulsed visibly. His face was contorted in anger. What concerned Ryan the most was the hockey stick, still in his lover's lap.

Ryan faced forward. His fingers dug into the sides of the seat. He was remembering everything that Jack had done to him in the past. Could he do that all to him in one moment? Ryan could not think of the damage that would cause, all he allowed himself to think about was the fact that Jack had missed his turn twenty miles ago.

--

The second day started out a little better. Coach Bolton welcomed Ryan back, and he even apologized for his stereotypical comment from the other day. Some of the players obviously were not convinced that Ryan was any good, others simply did not want to play with a guy like him, but there was a few, a good few, that had completely changed their opinion on Ryan. He had done fine the other day. They thought that he should have an equal chance just like all the other students trying out for the team. Ryan could deal with all of that, and knowing that he had some students that saw him as nothing more then competition was enough for him.

They worked mainly on batting. Unlike in professional baseball, a player had to be good at their position and batting. There was no room for an awesome pitcher that could not hit off a t-ball stand. Coach Bolton and the assistants' split the slightly smaller group than yesterday into threes and practiced pitching to all of them individually. Three pitches a time per player and then the player had to wait for his turn to come around again.

Ryan was in the same group as Jason. He was trying out with one of the assistant coaches. The first pitch Ryan hit a line drive to first, so it was call out, but it was still a nice hit. The second pitch he hit it left of center and it was called a single. The last pitch beamed Ryan in the shoulder and hurt like nothing else. The assistant was not as fast of a pitch as the players on the team but he still pitched at a speed of 40 to 50 mph so it stung. The entire group flinched, because each had experienced that pain before. The assistant asked if Ryan needed to sit out, and Ryan utterly refused. He did not want to lose his position on the team because he had not made it through practice.

Jason came up to him in line and softly said that he was pretty certain that Coach had hit him on purpose. Ryan said that pitchers often hit batters on purpose and so he took it as a compliment. The Coach would not have beamed him if he thought Ryan was not capable of hitting a good ball.

Ryan got two more rounds of pitches without any incident. The last ball of the last pitch went way over the fence and into the soccer fields where the lacrosse teams were trying out. Ryan thought nothing of it at the time, but that was the biggest mistake of his tryouts. Everyone on the team had seen it, since he had hit the ball just as tryouts were ending, including the other two coaches.

Coach Bolton complimented him on the way into the locker, he was much less aggressive on the baseball diamond then he was on the court. Jason walked a little ways with him to the locker room, until Chad ran by, jogging in front of him to compliment Ryan once again. Jason raced him back to the locker room from there.

--

Jack swerved off the highway, into a desert Church parking lot. Ryan could see the city lights flickering on from the rearview mirror. There was a 25 miles stretch of Highway back into the outskirts of the city. Ryan would new he would not be able to escape even if he tried.

Instead he focused on remaining cool, and calm. The more relaxed he was the less it would hurt.

"Get out," Jack ordered.

Ryan did not argue. He got out of the car and stood by the hood. Jack was around the car in no time hockey stick still in hand. He said nothing more as he swung it into the side of Ryan's head. The skin broke and blood trickled out. Ryan gasped but he did not cry out. He knew why Jack was doing this. It was wrong of him to go behind Jack's back and tryout for the baseball team. Jack had a right to be angry, but Ryan was not sure he had a right to be this angry.

--

There was even less people on the third day but Ryan was still standing proud. There were still the people that did not want to play with him, but for the most part the people that once thought he was a joke had changed their opinion on him. They did not see him as a gay guy that wanted to be made into a ball player. They saw him as equal competition as anyone else trying out for the team. It made Ryan feel like he was finally really trying out. Even all of the coaches were actually looking at him as a potential member of the team, setting aside their differences and looking to see if he had what it took to help their team do great.

That day the coaches asked the students to fill out a sheet of paper with the positions they were most interested in playing. They were to list them in order of most interested to least. They would separate the groups into outfielders, infielders, pitchers and catchers.

Ryan only wanted to list pitcher, but he knew that would be asking for it. So he listed second base, the position he played in little league when the coach put in his own son as pitcher.

They started Ryan out on second. He was fair on the position. It was a difficult one because he had to back up the first baseman, the pitcher, and sometimes the shortstop. He had to think where he would most be needed. For people who had played the position often, they knew instinctively what role to play. They could react seconds before Ryan can, and in a game of baseball seconds counted. Ryan knew that if he was just trying out for second he would not make the team. There were players that were more qualified then he was.

Halfway through the practice the students moved to take on a new position that they had listed. Ryan final got to practice pitching with a catcher. He had practiced since the summer, and his arm and mind were no longer rusty. He was a control pitcher and so that meant he was able to throw strikes regardless of where the batter stood or what pitch he threw. It meant that the ball got into play more often, but it also meant that he rarely walked anyone. He was a much better pitcher then he was a second baseman and it showed.

After the practice Coach Bolton said that Chad might be sharing his position on the pitcher's mound. It was the best compliment thus far. When Chad jogged by this time, he slowed down and walked with Ryan for a little. He offered no harsh feelings. He said he would be more then willing to be Ryan's relief pitcher. Then he jogged on.

--

Ryan was curled up near the front tire of the car. He had a hand over his head and the other wrapped around his legs protecting his vital organs on instinct. It was well beyond dark now and so he could not tell when or where a blow would come from. It was almost worse anticipating the blow as it was feeling the pain.

He continued to hit with his hockey stick, over and over into Ryan's side and against his raised arm. They had both heard the arm pop a while back and neither mistook that for anything less then what it was, a break.

Ryan lowered his arm when he realized that it had been a while since Jack had hit him. He had even stopped sobbing, and was starting to catch his breath. He looked up, the moon was starting to rise and he could still see a dark expression on his lover's face.

"Get up," Jack order before Ryan could cower again.

Ryan trembled all over, but managed to stand on his own two feet. He cradled his arm to his chest and looked at Jack's left ear; it was the closest to looking in his eyes that Ryan could get.

Jack dropped his hockey stick and spun Ryan around. The blond gasped as he was pushed on top of the hood of the car. He knew where this was going to lead. He was not new to this part of their relationship, but it was the first time he felt fear run through him before it happened. It was the first time he said no. It was not the first time that Jack did not listen to Ryan's begging or crying.

--

The same students were at the final tryout. They no longer even looked at Ryan as anything different then another one of them. It was the last day of tryouts and even the boys who did not want to play with a guy like Ryan on the team, were too focused on making the team to give a damn about Ryan. Likewise, Ryan could careless about anything other then making the team. It would be hard, generally the people who had played varsity last year would make the team; a few would be drafted up from junior varsity to replace last year's seniors. Some of the other guys that just did not quite make the varsity team would join the junior varsity team, but the rest would be cut from the team.

The coaches started off with a second look at the student's potential positions. They walked around each evaluating every student individually. They took notes that they would discuss together later that night. After all three looked at each boy in their top two positions, they set up a short scrimmage game, with about sixteen people on each team. It meant that positions were different for the whole three innings they played, but each player got up to bat, and each got a chance to play the position they wanted most.

Ryan started pitching for his team. He was a control pitcher, so he threw strikes but the batter was more likely to get a hit off of him then they were a power pitcher. The advantage he had was that he hardly ever walked a player. It meant that his team would need a strong defense in the field, but it also meant that there was less of a chance that a runner would be on base for the batter to hit in. The first batter got on the base. The second he pitched to helped him out by swinging at the wrong time. The next batter hit a grounder to back to him. He threw it to the first baseman who threw it to the second, for a double play. The last out was a fly ball to center.

He choked a little when he got up to bat. He fouled the ball six times before striking out, but at least he struck out swinging. Plus, some of those foul balls were powerful hits. Easily becoming ground rule doubles if they were just straightened out. Hopefully the coaches would see this as well.

After practice Coach Bolton gave a short speech about how each of them was winners even if they could only have twelve players on each team. Ryan was surprised when Chad and Jason joined him on the way to the locker room. They both said that he had a good shot at making the varsity and that he would no doubt be on the junior varsity team if he did not. Ryan appreciated their comments. He knew they would not say anything at all if they did not think it was true.

Before he got to the locker room, he saw Jack standing near the door his arms folder over his chest waiting. Ryan froze, letting the rest of the students and coaches go into the locker room without him.

"See you at the car," Jack snarled. He pushed off from the wall and stormed off.

--

Ryan started out the windshield as Jack drove him home. He had a blank expression on his face, and he did not listen to anything Jack was talking to him about. As soon as he got into the car he realized that he was in the relationship that he had become the victim that he vowed never to come. That he had let it get this bad, by never speaking up and by never trying to stop Jack.

He was just as at fault as Jack was if not more. There had to be something probably wrong with Jack. No normal person would act the way Jack did to him. So it was Ryan's job to be the reasonable. It was his job to get out, but now it was impossible. The throbbing in his arm, the string in his back, and the bruises all over his body was proof of that. Ryan knew there was no way he would get out on his own, alive. He just had no idea who he could turn to. He did not know who could or would help him. Who would believe him?

Jack stopped fast at his house jolting Ryan out of his mind. He looked over at Jack. The young man smiled crookedly. "Don't go to the hospital, Ryan." Ryan nodded and stepped out of the car. Jack sped away without waiting to see that Ryan got inside safely.

--

He did not attempt to cover up any of the bruises on his face, his arms, or legs. His pitching arm was swelled up, black and blue in color. It was easy for everyone to see what happened. When he approached the locker rooms to apologize to Coach Bolton for wasting his time, there was no need to explain.

The group of students who were celebrating making their chosen teams all fell into a hush. It was one or two at a time, but soon the entire area by the gym was so silent. Ryan flushed brightly and hung his head. He stepped up to the baseball list to see if he actually made the team. His name was listed alphabetically under Chad's. He steadied his jaw and used his incredible acting to keep from getting upset.

The hall was still silent as he entered the locker room and went into the coach's office. Coach Bolton and a few of the other coaches were inside trying to wake up with a morning up of coffee. They all looked up when they saw the door open.

"Evans what happened to you?" Coach Bolton pulled back out a chair and forced Ryan to sit in it. "Did someone do this to you?"

Ryan could not say anything about that so he said what he had practiced all night. "I can't play."

"Of course you can't play!" Coach gestured to his arm then waved his hand up and down his body. "You look like shit! I mean you look like…who did this to you?"

"I'm sorry Coach for wasting your time, but I can't play for you." Ryan stood up carefully and walked out of the room.

"Evans!" Coach Bolton called after him. He stopped the young boy from leaving the room. "I want to know who did this. I put myself on the line for you last night when we were picking teams. I want to know who stole one of my players from me."

Ryan had a perfect answer for that too, "Coach, I think I need to see a doctor." Then using his incredible acting skills, he fainted.


	18. Chapter 18

Title: Ice Prince

Author: Mrpointyhorns aka Blemery

Author's Email: M

Status: WIP

Part: 18/19

Pairings: Eventually Troy/Ryan, starts with Troy/Gabby and Ryan/OC

Warnings: Slash, Tryan, abusive relationship

Spoilers: None.

Summary: Sharpay and Ryan try out for the figure skating show. Ryan catches the eye of the ice hockey's captain, but is he as really charming as he seems. Troy starts to ask questions when he realizes that he might be jealous.

Beta: Phoenixdreams

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by Disney. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended

--

Chapter 18

--

Troy was a little bit late getting to school that day. He had gotten up in time, but had become distract by an email from Jim. Since Jim was that start of the end of Troy quest to find out his sexuality, it was only fair for Troy to fill him in on everything that had happened to him since their night together. Jim had been really exciting and encouraging towards Troy. He set him up with links to informative websites regarding: coming out, sex and learning what to do after. He had even mailed Troy a book on the subject.

He and Jim kept in touch regularly, now. He knew Jim almost as well as he knew any of his friends from school. It was easier to reveal things to Jim, because he was behind a computer screen or cell phone. Troy was very grateful to him. Even though Chad had accepted him and remained his best friend, it was Jim who he was able to relate to better.

He became wrapped up in his response and before he knew it twenty minutes had passed. He was able to make up a little time on the road, but he still arrived about ten minutes late. His homeroom teacher was pretty awesome though. He would probably let Troy sneak in without out any problems.

There happened to be a big problem when he got to school however. People were huddled together in groups. They were whispering to each other and crying. Troy hurried inside to locate one of his friends to find out what was going on.

Not looking where he was going, he ran into someone with his right shoulder. It shook him up a little and he turned to offer an apology to who he had run into. "So—sorry, Jack," Troy softly apologized. He had never been able to shake his dislike in Jack completely. He still would not allow himself to confront Jack, so his voice became small and weak in an attempt to keep calm.

Jack gave him a little sneer, and kept on walking without a word in. Troy sighed dropping his shoulders a little. He knew he needed to reign in his distaste. He wanted to remain friends with Ryan, even if he never learned to like Jack.

Troy's disappointment was short lived. People were still crowding the hall, talking and crying. He still wanted to know what was going on. So he forgot about his run-in, and continued looking for his friends. He spied Chad first. He hurried over to the tall basketball player.

As he approached he noticed that Zeke was standing beside him, with a distraught Sharpay. She really looked like she was upset. She did not look like she was faking it at all. Taylor stood by Gabriella, she seemed to be holding it together better. Gabriella had tears rolling down her cheeks, but she was not hysterical.

"Hey guys," Troy said softly. His steps had slowed as he approached. He realized that he needed to approach cautiously, even though he did not know what was going on. "Umm…what happened?"

Chad turned to Troy pulling him a few inches away he softly explained. "Ryan came in to school today looking like he was hit by a truck. He went in to talk to your dad. He fainted. They just took him away in an ambulance. No one knows what's going on, but most of the team thinks some bigot made sure that he wouldn't make the team."

Troy's eyes widened. He could not believe what he was hearing. He had heard of crimes like that before, but he always thought they happened in The South.

He followed Chad back over to their group of friends. Now that he knew what was going on he was more tactful. He stood next to Chad, and tried to be of some comfort to the girls. He would not let himself get so worked up in front of his classmates.

After several minutes, the teachers came out from the lounge and urged the mass of students to go into the gym for an impromptu assembly. He was more reasonable then any of the girls, so Troy helped Chad usher the group into the gym. He even had to help Zeke, who had his arms too full to be paying any attention to where he was going. Troy led them to the court side seats. He wanted to be close to the action. He wanted to be able to ask question, to find out exactly what happened. He still could not believe that someone at their school could be that cruel to someone else.

The assembly was not very informative however; there was a fine line that the teachers had to walk when talking about the subject. They did not want to seem like they were influencing the teenagers or exposing them to strange lifestyles, but they also wanted to enforce that it was not right for anyone to bully another student. They started with:

"When you assume that someone is gay you make an ass out of you and me…"

Troy stopped listening right away. This was not going to give him answers this was public relations control. He knew that Sharpay would be pissed if she was actually paying attention. He looked over at her, as far as Troy could tell, the blond did not even realize that she was sitting down. Troy caught Zeke's eye, he flared his nostril and gave a pointed glare at the teachers running the assembly. Troy rolled his eyes silently agreeing.

Troy looked over at Gabriella and Taylor. They seemed to be listening to the teachers, but he could not tell if they were taking comfort in the words or just the teacher's calm tone of voice. Chad nudged Troy in the side and nodded his head in the direction of the gym door. Troy looked over to see Jack slipping out into the hall. Troy furrowed his brow. He knew everyone would see it if he walked away, he was sitting in the front, and a prominent figure in the student body. If he left he might be sending a bad message to the rest of the school. Then again, the teachers were already sending a worse message; by leaving the gym he would not be condoning them anymore.

So he did what his gut told him. He stood up, Chad right behind him, anticipating him like always. They left the gym together without a single word. They both heard the teacher stop talking as she watched them leave. She started up again after they left.

Chad looked down one end of the hall and Troy looked down the other. Troy wondered what exactly they were looking for. Were they here to comfort Jack, seeing as his boyfriend was in the hospital, or were they there to confront Jack. Troy looked over at Chad his facial expression was blank. That either meant that Chad was really confused, or he was so angry that he could not screw his face up far enough to express what he was feeling.

"There." Chad pointed down a small corridor that led out to the soccer fields. As the two started after him, the rest of the student body started to file out one by one. They sped up their movements, hoping to slip past the rest of the students to talk to Jack alone.

Jack was half way across the field, taking the long way to the parking lot; obviously he was not planning to stay the day, when they were outside. Chad called out to him, and Jack turned around, gave them one look and took off fast. Chad gave Troy a look, which read 'is he really trying to out run me' and the two took of running after him.

Chad was faster then Troy, especially when it came to sprinting. He had longer legs and a big lung capacity. He reached Jack first, shoving him to the ground and pinning him underneath him between his thighs.

Troy slowed down as he approached. He crouched down next to Jack, and Chad. The darker haired boy struggled under Chad but it was no use. Chad was not letting him go, and now Troy was there giving him back up.

"What are you running from Jack?" Chad hissed. Troy looked over at his friend. He wondered if Chad had the same feeling as him. That same thought that Jack was the cause behind all of this. He had witnessed Jack handling Ryan roughly in the passed, but he did not think Chad had. Was it just because Jack had run from them? Or did Chad know something he did not? Would his doubts have been reassured if Troy had just gone to his best friend for advice? Troy had so many questions, but he could not say them in front of Jack.

"I was just scared okay." Jack's chest rose and fell fast. He was looking back and forth between the two basketball players. "I don't want to sit in that stupid assembly listening to their crap about bullying. Ryan is really hurt and not from some bully, but by some hating bigot that could not accept the fact that Ryan was a better ball player then him."

Chad let up slowly, his anger drained away. Troy could understand how he was feeling. Were they wrong to accuse Jack of such a terrible crime, or were they right to assume that Jack had been the one hurting Ryan all along. Chad got off of Jack giving him a bit of space.

The dirty blond seemed to calm down. He brushed off his shirt and moved to a crouched position as well. He offered the other athletes a cool smile. "It's probably best that you let me up. You don't want to be caught bullying another one of _our_ kind," he said. He stood up and brushed his jeans off. He turned around and began walking away.

Troy turned to Chad and asked softly. "Did he just threaten us?"

"Sort of sounds like it," Chad replied. Troy furrowed his brow in confusion. "Let's get to the hospital before him." Chad whispered and Troy agreed with a nod. The two basketball players were running again, but this time they went around Jack. They needed to get to Troy's truck first, and they needed to get to the hospital first.

Troy was not reckless in his driving, but he did drive as fast as he could. He kept checking his mirrors to see where Jack was, but it was soon clear to both teenagers that Jack was not following them. Troy slowed to a stop, at a light about ten minutes from the hospital. He turned to Chad giving him a confused look. "What just happened?"

"I think we just let him get away with murder. The only thing he said that wasn't a lie was that he was scared. He was scared because I had him underneath me, and I was ready to pound the snot out of him.

"He was scared because he knew that it is only a matter of time before the entire school finds out what happens. Ryan might be gay, but he's one of the most well know and liked students at school. I think that's why everyone was so shocked about him being a victim of a hate crime. We let him get away," Chad whispered softly.

Troy continued driving, his eyes now on the road, but he asked, "When did you figure it out."

He could see Chad's confused look from the corner of his eyes. "I figured it out this week, during tryouts. Heck, maybe I figured it out yesterday when I saw the look in his eyes when he met Ryan after the tryouts. When did you figure it out?"

"I-I had suspicious since December," Troy whispered softly. He kept his eyes on the road but his shoulders slumped forward and his face fell. He knew now that he should have trusted his gut and helped Ryan then. He realized that by turning a blind eye on it, he let it happen. Chad was now glaring at him, waiting for him to continue.

"I saw them after the ice skating, Jack was rough with him. I thought it was weird, but everyone was so certain that they were in love, that I thought I was making things up. The last couple of times I talked to Ryan he seemed so different. I tried talking about it with the girls, but they all thought Ryan was doing fine. They thought I was the one with the problem." Troy would have hung his head, but he was driving. Instead, he stared at the road, but he did not really see it. He was lucky that it was in the middle of the day, there was hardly anyone on the road.

Chad let in a sharp in take of breath. Troy knew that he was ready to tell him off. He was surprised to hear Chad slowly release his breath. "Its okay, Troy. You didn't know what was going on. If you talked to him, the way I know you do, you already offered to help, but he refused. There was nothing else you can do. But, we can do something more now."

"Right," He agreed and smiled. He knew Chad was right. He could not dwell on what he could have done or what Ryan could have done. He had to focus on what they would do now.

Troy was able to focus better for the rest of the trip to the hospital. The hospital was on the top of a hill, with a big mountain behind it. There were even hiking trails that began from the hospital parking lot. The grounds were beautiful with spring flowers blooming. Many of the long term patients were taking the chance to stretch their legs, or just outside to get some air. Troy did not see any of these people, this happiness or the peace. He led Chad inside the visitor entrance.

"Troy, Chad!" Taylor called as soon as they were inside. They both turned to look seeing Taylor sitting in the waiting room with Gabriella, Zeke, Kelsi, and Sharpay. Troy felt his better mood slip away. If Sharpay was out here waiting, there was no way they were getting in to see him soon. The most he and Chad could do was keep an eye on the waiting room to make sure that Jack did not show up.

"Where did you take off to?" Taylor asked her boyfriend.

"How did you get here faster then us?" Chad answered in the form of a question. He neglected to tell them about their encounter with Jack.

"We went straight to the parking lot. Zeke saw you too heading down the hall that led out to the soccer fields." Taylor explained. She looked expectantly; she would not let Chad slide by her question that easily. "What happened?"

Chad hesitated. He turned to look at Troy, who naturally took charge. "We saw Jack sneaking out of the assembly. We went to confront him."

"Confront him?" Gabriella furrowed her brow into a little frown of confusion. "Why would you do that? Don't you think Jack is upset about what happened to Ryan? Why?"

"No, I don't think he would be upset. In fact I know he wasn't. Chad and I cornered him, and he said…that he was scared…that he was…worried about…Ryan." Troy faded a little. How could he explain to Gabriella that he was sure that Jack was the reason why Ryan was in the hospital? She was always so rational, and so far his explanation was anything but rational. She folded her arms and crossed them over her chest. She continued to stare, the rest of the group was watching as well. "He said it was a good thing that we didn't beat him up. That it would make us look like the haters!"

"It does make you look like that," Gabriella said. She did not look pleased. She opened her mouth and continued, "I knew you were uncomfortable around gays…"

"Gabi," Sharpay snapped. She stood up and whirled around on her. "You listen to me. I know for a fact that Troy would never hurt a hair on Ryan's body. You know this just as well as I do. So stop accusing Troy, and listen to him. If I had listened to him, when he talked to me about _this shit_ before, Ryan wouldn't be here."

Gabriella hushed. She was not the only one who had thought what she had, but she was the one who expressed it. She exchanged a glance with Kelsi and then one with Taylor. Taylor knew that Chad was not confrontational, but the whole explanation had been so shaky she had almost doubted her knowledge of him.

Seeing Gabriella's submission, Sharpay collapsed on the hospital chair once more. She gave a sad smile to Troy, before replacing it with a worried frown.

Everyone fell into an awkward silence. Each trying to decide how to bridge the gap wedged between them because of Troy's arrival. Then Kelsi burst into tears. She sobbed so loud that people turned to look at her. She covered her face with her hands and cried hard.

When Gabriella tried to console her, Kelsi cried more. "I-I saw it. I saw him, bully Ryan. I saw how scared Ryan was. I saw it. It was right there. But, I-I didn't want to believe it. I didn't want to know that he was hurting so much. So-so I ignored it. I-I walked away. I let it happen." She sobbed loudly.

Everyone tried to console her after that. They wanted to reassure her, that she was not alone. That they had all noticed something different in Ryan, something controlling in Jack, but they chose to ignore it. But it was Sharpay, again who calmed the group. She took Kelsi's hand and squeezed it once. "Ryan is so strong. You wouldn't believe how fast he'll heal from this. Now that we know, we can help him. He's so brave. He will be okay. He'll survive. He'll be better then ever. I know him."

Sharpay went back to her worried stance. The rest of the group remained quiet. They all now agreed that Jack was the real threat. Chad went to sit beside Taylor. She took his hand, silently apologizing for her momentary guilt. He squeezed her hand, forgiving her. Gabriella continued to comfort Kelsi, sharing in her guilt, even though Sharpay assured that Ryan would make it, that fact was he should not have to. Zeke remained a strong pillar for Sharpay to lean on. He did not say anything, but he was there for her however she wanted to deal with the situation.

Troy paced. He started with twelve paces, but he was soon walking around the entire room. He picked up pamphlets. He threw them away. He stared at the pictures in the waiting room. He sat in almost every empty seat in the room. He went to the gift shop, and bought a stuff purple kitten. He came back to the waiting room. Mr. Evans was there talking to Sharpay and the others. He slowed as he approached stopping to stand beside Chad.

"He's in his own recovery room now. There wasn't much over the bruises and cuts, but he did break his arms. He may have sustained head trauma and they want to keep him here over night to help him recover," Mr. Evans explained to the group. He nodded when he noticed Troy join them. He had his arms wrapped around his daughter, usually he wasn't the friendliest of men, but he had a soft spot for his children especially his daughter. He did not mind comforting her in public. "He's allowed to see visitors, but besides family, only one or two of you guys at a time."

"Do you know who did it Daddy?" Sharpay asked, softly. She snuggled her face into her father's shoulder.

"Yes." He said sternly. He pulled away from his daughter. He gave the group a look that spoke volumes. He did not want to talk about it. He turned away and went back into the hospital, Troy assumed to Ryan's room. Sharpay followed after him.

"Well, I'm heading back to the school. Sharpay doesn't need me right now, and I think Ryan would appreciate it more if one of you guys went to see him." Zeke grabbed his bag from under the chair he had vacated when Sharpay's Dad arrived. "Who's coming with me?"

"We will," Taylor said for Chad as well. Chad shot her a look, and she replied. "Zeke is right, there is no reason for us to stick around here. We can come back after school, or see Ryan tomorrow once he's back home."

Chad sighed. He did not like it, but it made the most sense. Troy's shoulders fell as well, and he said, "I'll come too. Gabriella and Kelsi can see Ryan."

The girls looked a little surprised that no one put up a fight, but they did not argue. They counted themselves lucky, and hurried after the Sharpay.

Troy started to head back to his truck, assuming that Chad would go with Taylor and Zeke. His friends caught up with him at the door however, Chad was livid. "You can't leave Ryan alone, what if Jack shows up."

"They wouldn't let him in the hospital. They already know it was his fault, and even if they didn't Sharpay knows. He's safe as long as he's in there." He gave a grim smile. Which eventually Chad reciprocated, he followed the tug on his arm when his girlfriend led him to the car.

Troy got to his truck feeling nauseate. He realized long before Mr. Evans arrived that he could not go after Jack. He would not be able to keep his cool, and he might be in as much or more trouble as Jack. If the boy showed up while Ryan was recovering Troy would let lose for sure, but he could not go after them now. Instead, he would go the safe route. He would talk to the police tell them what he knew.

He would be there for Ryan. That's what made him feel the most sick. Ryan had been tortured under his and everyone's noses and no one did anything, Ryan did not do anything to stop it. These things did not happen to real people, not to people that Troy knew. It was nerve-wracking.

--

He worried about Ryan the entire day at school. If not for the fact that teachers were going easy on the students because of what happened earlier in the morning, Troy probably would have gotten detention.

Did Jack never really like Ryan? Had he been abused as a kid? Bullied? Did he think that the only way to show affection was to hurt someone?

How could Jack feel like he had the right to hurt another person? Why Ryan, someone who trusted Jack, and even said that he loved him? Was it because he felt like he was better then Ryan. That Ryan fit more of the stereotypes, so he was gayer then Jack ever was. Was it because Jack was a jock, and so he felt like it was his role to hurt Ryan?

Could Troy hurt someone he loved simply because he met the mold of jock, instead of flamer? Troy did not think he could hurt someone else that way, but he had spent years doing things people expected of him. Then he had met Gabriella, and tried out for the musical. He was really finding out who he was. He was someone who loved the game of Basketball. He loved to sing and he did not mind dancing. He liked girls, but he loved boys. He was happy, but would he come to resent it. Hate it enough to hurt another person?

"Dad?" Troy knocked on the door as he entered the open office. Mr. Bolton smiled grimly and pulled up a chair. He knew what Troy was here for. Troy shut the door and sat down in the offered chair. He took a deep breath and said, "Do you think I'm like him?"

The coach startled and looked at his son curiously. This was not what he expected at all. "What?"

"Do you think I'm like Jack?" Troy asked. He watched his father's shoulders fall. It had been enough time for the school to be alerted about who had hurt Ryan. All of the teachers were looking out for him.

"Of course not Troy, I raised you better then that. You would never raise you hand to anyone, and you know that." Mr. Bolton sat up and looked his son in the eyes. He gave his best no-nonsense tone when he asked, "What is really about Troy?"

"I can't figure out why he felt like he had a right to do something like that. If I could justify hurting someone like that? I mean I'm sort of like Jack. I play basketball he plays hockey. He join the ice skating team, I did the musical. He's gay and," Troy paused. He looked over his dad. It was easy to draw a conclusion to the end of his sentence. If he was going to react it would be showing already. Mr. Bolton had a soft smile and he nodded for Troy to continue. "And I am."

Mr. Bolton exhaled slowly. He put a hand on his son's shoulder and squeezed it. "You're not like him Troy. You don't think only of yourself for one. After all it took you years to allow yourself to truly be who you are, and not be what other people wanted you to be. But not only that, you know the difference between right and wrong. You know you can't make yourself happy by making someone else suffer. You realize that happiness can only come from within."

Troy blinked a little. His eyes watered a little. He knew his father was not the most emotionally expressive person in the world, but he was making a good effort today. He smiled weakly and joked, "Did we just have a moment?"

His Dad smiled back and nodded. "I think we did. Do you think we need to flay a kid like Ryan to make up for it?"

"No." Troy shook his head. He knew his father was just trying to make a point. Troy was not like Jack at all. Whatever drove Jack to behave the way he did was his problem and not Troy's.

"Have you told your mother?" Troy shook his head. His father stood and made his way over to the door. "Come on. I'll sign you out for the rest of the day."

--

Troy and the rest of the gang were at the Evan's estate when the young man came home from the hospital. Troy had not seen him at all the day before, so see him and all his injuries made everything more real. Ryan's arm was in a cast held up by a sling. When he moved a certain way the sleeves of his shirt would reveal black, purple and blue bruise in the clear shape of a stick. The way Ryan moved slow and carefully let Troy know that there were more of the same hidden by the rest of his clothes.

Now more then ever, Troy wanted to find Jack and kick his face in. He knew the instant satisfaction of letting the young man have it, would not make him or Ryan feel better in the long run, however. So Troy remained at the Evans. They all gathered in Ryan's room. Ryan on his bed, with Gabriella, Kelsi and even Taylor cooing over him, and Sharpay running around making sure the lighting and air quality was perfect.

Troy stood to the side with Chad and Zeke looking like he had no idea what to do or say.

"Are you going to press charges?" Chad beat him to it.

Ryan sighed softly which earned Chad four heated glares and an elbow in his ribs. Chad glared at Zeke and rubbed his bruised ribs. "Well, I want to know if I need to take justice into my own hands."

"I don't know if I want Jack to go to jail. I think he needs help, and I don't think prison is the type of place that will provide that. I already talked to my parents' lawyers. They promised to work on a bargain where Jack will have little jail time, and mostly time in a place that can help him." Ryan gave a sad grimace. His sister let out a loud snort, expressing her opinion on Ryan's decision.

"Well, I guess that makes sense," Troy said softly. The group all yelled in protest. He held up his hands in surrender. "Ryan's only thinking about other people. He doesn't want anyone else to live the way he has. Sending Jack to jail wouldn't make him better, in fact it will probably just upset him more. In the long run, it's the better decision."

The group quieted down a little. Some murmured apologize while other chose to remain quiet. Ryan smiled thankfully at him. Sharpay was not happy however, she made her opinion known by stomping out of the room, and slamming her bedroom door. The group turned to look at Ryan who shrugged. They then turned to Zeke who sighed and left the room quietly.

"I never thought I would meet someone who willingly followed after Sharpay when she got into one of her moods," Kelsi joked. She nudged Ryan gently. They shared a secret smile with each other.

The group grew quiet. No one wanted to make Ryan feel uncomfortable by asking him too many questions, but no other topic seemed appropriate. Troy saw Ryan's gaze drop. He saw a thin blush on his cheeks. He felt bad for Ryan. He must feel so embarrassed to be in this situation. He knew that it did not happen overnight, but it was never anyone's goal to be in an abusive relationship. Even though, Jack was still to blame, Ryan could still feel embarrassed for being so helpless.

He cleared his throat, gaining everyone's attention. He blushed this time. "Is anyone hungry?" He asked. The question seemed like a poor way to distract his friends.

"Well, I am," Ryan said sheepishly. He had a big smile on his face and he was looking right at Troy. The brunette blushed brightly. The rest of the group seemed eager to agree, and before long it was decided that Taylor, Chad and Gabriella would go downstairs to prepare something for everyone. Troy and Kelsi were supposed to be helping Ryan downstairs so that he could join everyone in front of the television to eat.

Once the three chefs were out the door Kelsi began helping Ryan out of the bed, an arm around his waist. Troy wrinkled up his nose. He moved over to them and shooed Kelsi away. "Give the man his dignity, Kels." Ryan looked grateful, but said nothing.

Kelsi rolled her eyes and folded her arms. She did not appreciate what Troy was trying to do. "He's still recover Troy. Not everyone is a big macho jock like you are."

"Maybe not, but he's still a human. I'll catch him if he falls down the stairs or something, but I'm not going to be his human cane. Why don't you go find Zeke before our lunch becomes indigestible?" Troy suggested. He knew he could easily handle Ryan on his home. He was still hurting sure, but his leg wasn't broken. He could walk and even though it was stiff, he had a feeling that Ryan would want to do so on his own.

She glared at him, but was stopped from speaking when Ryan squeezed her arm and pulled away. "I need to talk to Troy anyway."

"Are you sure?" Kelsi asked. When he nodded she admitted defeat and slipped out of the room.

Troy smiled as she retreat and then turned to look at Ryan. He was surprised to find that Ryan really did want to talk. He had sat back down on the bed with his hands folded between his legs. He rubbed his thumb over the back of his hand nervously. He took a deep breath, an actor's way to gather courage. He looked up at Troy and spoke. "I want to apologize. Don't say anything," Ryan warned using his hand to block any reply Troy had coming. "You offered to help me and I was too much of a coward to take it. I thought about that day so many times. I thought if I had not been so stubborn that I wouldn't be so miserable."

He waited for Ryan to continue speaking, but he reminded quiet for several minutes and looked down at his hands for several more. Troy sat down beside him. He let his leg bump Ryan's, but he did not coddle him, or touch him anyway else. "I'm sorry for that too. I would like to say that it's okay that it wasn't your fault. That day it was your fault. But it was mine, especially mine, when I turned a blind eye to what I couldn't believe was happening. Everything that we could have done really doesn't compare to what he did. I'm sorry your year was so terrible."

Ryan frowned at this. He leaned his body weight against Troy's shoulder, and sighed when he felt Troy's arm around his shoulder. "It was only one year. I have many more coming. I wouldn't let this one ruin the rest."

"This one's not over yet? Maybe I can help make it a little brighter," Troy suggested, a winning grin pinned on his face.

"What you know someone who's willing to take me to prom?" Ryan asked sarcastically.

"Umm well, what about me?" Troy asked. He had not planned on asking Ryan, but if he could make the rest of his friend's senior year of High School better, then he wanted to. Even if he was not interested in guys, Troy knew he would be okay with escorting Ryan to the dance.

Ryan pulled away. He looked him in the eyes. It only took half a minute for Ryan to know that Troy was sincere. He may not be asking Ryan because he fancied him, but he liked Ryan enough to do this for him. Ryan opened his mouth ready to refuse, ready to insist that he would be okay just going as friends, but he closed it. Ryan realized that if Troy was his date then he would feel protect and safe. Even if they spent the entire night by the punch bowl, it would be a better night then going alone. Troy would not have offered if he did not really want to go. So Ryan nodded softly and leaned back against him.

--

He went ahead of Ryan, incase he tripped or stumbled on the stairs. He would be able to catch him, but he was not about to be Ryan's crutch. They stopped at the landing in front of the stairs. Ryan turned a bright smile at him, and Troy returned it.

The front door slammed shut and both teens turned to look. Troy stomach churned and boiled the minute he laid eyes on him, on Jack. He felt Ryan gaze at him, cautiously and felt him relax when he saw Troy's look.

The brunette stepped forward even more, placing Ryan behind him. He narrowed his eyes on the dirty blond at the door. "This wasn't your smartest move, Jack."

"What the hell are you doing here?!" Jack snapped. He tried to look around Troy to look at Ryan, but Troy blocked his view purposely. The blond's gaze fell on him again. "I knew it. I knew you wanted him for yourself. You bastard you always get everything you want."

He glared at Jack. The kid was crazy. He had Ryan for the last four months and he had screwed it up all on his own. Troy took a cautious step forward. "Jack, you're not welcome here. Please, don't you think you've done enough?"

"Enough? Is that what he told you? Is that how he got you into his pants? He told you that he was done with me. So you thought you could just steal him away. Well you can't," Jack yelled. There was commotion from the hall behind Troy, it led to the kitchen and family rooms. Troy knew his friends were now aware of Jack's presence. He had more to worry about, Jack's thumb twitched, and he went for his belt. Troy instinctively acted. He jumped on the hockey captain, pushing them both on to the floor. Troy grabbed his hands and forced them over his head, pinning him to the ground.

Troy panted glaring down at the bastard under him. He could fell something hard against his thigh, and his mind made the final conclusion. He had brought a gun. Removing one of his hands from his grip on Jack's arm, he pushed up his shirt and grabbed the black handgun. He held it up over his head, so that everyone else could get a good look at it.

He briefly flirted with putting it to Jack's head and letting him squirm. Jack was like a trapped animal though, and making him more nervous could get a bad reaction from him. He placed the gun on the title floor, and shoved it away from him, to the group behind him.

Jack gulped and squirmed more. He lifted his head trying to look around Troy again, but he could only see a group of legs. He let his head fall, and tears formed. Troy knew not to feel bad for him. Jack was only upset because he had lost.


	19. Chapter 19

Title: Ice Prince

Author: Mrpointyhorns aka Blemery

Author's Email: M

Status: WIP

Part: 19/19

Pairings: Eventually Troy/Ryan, starts with Troy/Gabby and Ryan/OC

Warnings: Slash, Tryan, abusive relationship

Spoilers: None.

Summary: Sharpay and Ryan try out for the figure skating show. Ryan catches the eye of the ice hockey's captain, but is he as really charming as he seems. Troy starts to ask questions when he realizes that he might be jealous.

Beta: Phoenixdreams

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by Disney. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended

--

Chapter 19

--

He thought it would be hard going back to school. It turned out to be the easiest three and a half months of high school. There were no glances or whispers behind his back, sometimes he would get a question or two, but he did not mind answering.

His friends and sister accepted him back. He ate with them at lunch, talked to them in class and they all took turns taking notes for him.

It was like Jack had never happened. Except he had, Ryan still remembered him. He never felt like Jack would be around the corner, but he knew that Jack had been there at one point. If he just forgot about him, it would be like forgetting part of his life. Everyone else might have thought it was easier to move on, but he did not want to run away from it. He did not want to be stuck in the past, but he did not want to go on with his life without remembering what had happened. He could not forget that he had never sought help, until it was too late.

He could not forget who had offered to help him. He even tried to open the eyes of their friends. He had been stubborn to accept the offer. Troy had such good intentions. It was Troy who was helping him adjust the most. Since Ryan could not do baseball this year and Troy did not play spring sports the two spent time together. Maybe it was Troy's guilt, but Ryan was glad to have him around.

Even weeks later, it was Troy who put in one hundred percent. By that time, new conflicts developed among the high school students, and even their friends were settling into a new routine. It was not like that with Troy though. He had his own problems too and he did not neglect them, but he usually combined both of their problems. He took the initiative to work on them together.

Ryan stumbled forward when an impatient underclassman could not wait for him to move any longer. He glared at the younger boy, but he and his friends just gestured rudely for him to hurry up. He did so with them laughing at his back. Ryan rolled his eyes, and tried to remember what he was thinking about.

"Chicken or Beef?" The student working in the cafeteria asked.

"Double Chicken," Ryan said. No one was going to let him go back to thinking now. He asked for lettuce, salsa, and guacamole. He grabbed a diet soda and a cookie at the end of the line and put them on his tray. The cashier rang him up and he paid with his ID number on the push pad.

He balanced his tray on his cast and his bag in his other hand. He got several looks from the guys behind him, but he walked past them and looked around for a place to sit. It was awkward holding all of his stuff, trying to dodge the crowd still waiting for food and to look for a place to sit. Ryan smiled despite it all. He was never one to gripe when he was at a disadvantage. His relationship with Sharpay and then with Jack proved that.

A hand landed on his shoulder and another under his tray pulling it out of his grasp. His smile grew and he looked to his left to see Troy helping him again. A finger pointed to the table where he and their friends were sitting. Ryan blushed slightly at not see them earlier, and he followed Troy to the table. Troy set his tray down and sat down in the spot next to it. Ryan flushed again and sat down beside Troy.

"Hey when are you getting rid of that thing?" Chad asked point to the cast. He looked like he had been talking to Jason about their winning season, thus far, but now his focus was on Ryan.

The blond glowed in the attention and looked down at his cast. It was childish but the pink cast was covered in signatures and notes from all of his friends, all of the people in the drama club, and most of the students in his classes. It would be hard to see it get cut off, but it had been eight weeks, and it was enough. "Today actually."

"Today?" Sharpay wrinkled her brow. She picked up her Pearl and looked at her calendar. "But I have a nail appointment after school."

"It's okay you don't have to come," Ryan reassured. Sharpay's interest and concern had faded long ago, unless anyone brought up Jack.

She grinned appreciatively and went back to her lunch and conversation with Gabriella. Ryan watched as the rest of his friends began to resume their old conversations as well. He smiled fondly and looked down at his taco salad. He picked up his fork and began to eat.

"Hey," Troy whispered into his ear. Ryan would have startled but he was to busy shivering. He was not ready to admit that that might actually mean, so he ignored it. He turned to look at Troy. "I'm driving you to the doctors, right?"

"You said you wanted to. Unless you have other plans, because if you do I understand." Ryan blushed. He knew he was making a fool of himself, but it was just how he was. He did not want to get in anyone's way. The only time he had fought for anything, was when Troy and Gabriella tried out for the musical and that had been Sharpay's idea.

Troy just gave him a look. "We can pick up our tuxes afterwards, okay?"

"Okay," he said with an even brighter blush. He had not publicly announced that he was Troy's date to the prom, but they had not kept the news a secret. Still, Ryan wondered how many of their friends had picked up on the hints. He wondered how many of them would be surprised come Saturday night.

After Troy had asked him, he made it clear that it was something that he wanted to do, but going out of his way to plan everything. Including going in on a limo with his friends, paying for tickets, and arranging the night after. It occurred to Ryan, that Troy was just as excited about this as he was. It might not be more then two people going stag together, but it felt just as good as if they were getting married.

Troy squeezed his arm sympathetically, and they both returned to their meals. They might be feeling like they were getting married, but they were still boys, and they still did not want to talk about it.

--

He put on his seatbelt and zoned out. He heard Troy in the background going on and on about his day, but he could not bring himself to listen. One thing consumed his thoughts. It would soon be over. He would go in get his cast off and it would finally be over. It was like a mantra in his head: It's over, it's over, it's over, it's over, and it's over.

All he felt was numb. For something that had been so life-consuming, it was a weird feeling. He would no longer be that abused kid. He would just be Ryan; Ryan the brother, Ryan the son and Ryan the friend. Did he know how to be those things? That Ryan felt so far away. He still liked the things that he used to like, and he wanted to go back to that time, however. Could he go back? Was it too late for him? Would he be sad, broken Ryan forever, or a produce of him? And why was this getting to him now, when it was supposed to be over?

Fear irrationally gripped him and he began to panic. His heart felt like Satan was trying to rip it out, and his lungs constricted. He began to hyperventilate, his eyes burned and watered and his nose ran.

"Woah, woah," Troy's voice broke through. His hands were on his waist, holding him still, not down. Ryan leaned into him and buried his face in Troy's shirt. He clung to him his nose pressed against a cold button and his eyes closed. He sobbed. Troy did nothing more then hold him. He did not shush him or try to make him feel better. He just let him cry and cry until he could no longer.

When he pulled away he noticed how awkward this was for Troy. He was holding him, and he had crawled over the arrest to kneel at his feet. It was cramped but Troy refused to lean on Ryan, holding him, not pressuring him.

Ryan tried to work his mouth to speak but Troy pressed a finger to his lips. He froze there and felt awed when Troy brushed a few strands of stray hair behind his ear. He slid callused fingers under the rim of his hat and pulled it off. Troy set it on the driver's seat carefully.

Troy began to comb fingers through his hair. It caused Ryan's eyes to flutter but he refused to close them. When Troy's hands stilled one was on the nape of his neck and the other was cupping his cheek, playing with a wisp of his hair. Ryan watched his eyes flickered down to look at his lips. A warm flutter filled Ryan's stomach and he knew what Troy wanted. He wanted it too. If just for the chance to _know_ that nothing was too late.

He only blinked and Troy's soft lips touched his. They barely pressed down, ghosting there, but they were real and warm. And they were gone.

"How," Troy whispered and brushed drying tears from his cheeks. He scooted away, over the armrest. He scooted in to the driver's seat, settling Ryan's hat on Ryan's head.

"We'll be late." Troy restarted the car's engine. It was only then that Ryan realized that they were stopped, haphazardly on the side of the road. Troy had stopped everything to be with him, jut like he did with everything.

Ryan wondered if all boyfriends were like this. Then he decided it was just Troy. Troy was not his boyfriend, even though he had kissed him. He kissed him with soft lips and gentle hands. Troy was just being nice, or did he want more?

"I'm not ready for more," Ryan said before he could stop himself.

"I know," Troy gave a soft smile and a sigh. "You didn't kiss back."

"What? Yes, I did. I remember your lips were on mine and they were soft and warm and oh god…"

He shut his eyes and slumped in his seat. He did not kiss Troy back. How could he not? This was Troy. The nicest, cutest, best guy in school. Ryan had been no better at kissing then a dead fish. Well, at least he did not smell like one.

"It's okay Ryan. I wouldn't let my own mother kiss me if…if…you know, Jack. You're not so bad anyway, you didn't pull away." Troy reassured. He checked his blind spot and pulled into the left hand turn lane. He pulled into the bone specialist office, it was a blue building that was built into a hill, so that the entrance was level with the parking lot but the lawn around the building went right up to the windows of the office.

Troy got a parking spot right in front and he turned to look at Ryan. "You didn't hear what I said earlier did you?"

"N-no. I was in the process of freaking out."

"Good. What I said was really jumbled and the reaction, that I thought you had, was a little off." Troy reached over and took Ryan's good hand squeezing it gently. "I said that I'm looking forward to the dance. That I haven't been completely honest with you either, I'm not just going because of what happened. The truth is that I'm gay, or bisexual or well I like girls but I love boys. So I just wanted you to know. I don't want you to feel weird about asking to dance or holding hands. And…"

Ryan squeezed his hand hard and pressed a finger to his lips. "You said all that while I was panicking."

"And then some," Troy agreed when Ryan removed his finger. "Is it okay/"

"What that you love boys?" Ryan asked.

"No, that I like you a little and we're going to the dance, and you're not ready." Troy explained in a rushed tone. The look on his face was completely helpless.

Ryan shook his head, "No it's fine. I'm not ready for dating, but I am somewhere between dating and still freaked-about-Jack. So going to the dance with you regardless is good. If that's good with you?"

Troy nodded happily, smiling widely. "Yes."

Ryan smiled back fondly before remember why they were there. Troy went with him inside where Ryan's mother was waiting. She scolded him for being late and went with Ryan to check in. He mostly had to stand by his mother as she did all of the talking.

He shifted and glanced at Troy. He was on an oversized couch reading, Sport Illustrated. Ryan smiled a little. Troy was so cute like a little boy almost. He said that he sort of liked Ryan.

As far as he knew Troy had never come out and while it was not surprising he wondered when Troy figured it all out. For Ryan it really was not a question. He started peaking in the boys' locker room, at the country club when he was six. He realized, however, that it was not as simple for other people. Troy spent sixteen years lying to him when it came to singing so it was not surprise that he could hide other things about himself too. Some people hid the truth about their sexuality for 30 or 40 years. Ryan decided that the only way to find out was to ask him later. He owed Ryan that an explanation.

"Ryan?" the blonde nurse started him. She had long curly hair that hung over her chest, and a short scrubs dress suit on with comfortable white sneakers. She was young and good-looking, and even Ryan noticed. She and his mother gave him a worried look. "He can come if you like."

"Really? What about the family only rule?" Ryan asked. He felt his stomach heat up again, but his body and mind relaxed a little.

"This isn't a hospital." She pointed out with a knowing smile. "Hurry up though."

Ryan agreed and hurried over to Troy. "Please come in with me?" He asked before Troy even looked at him.

The basketball star put down his magazine and tried to stand up. The couch was very soft so it was hard for Troy to find purchase and push out. Ryan offered his good hand and helped Troy up. Troy did not give him the hand back once he was up. Ryan blushed but he did not protest. His mother gave Troy a cold look before turning to her Blackberry.

The nurse smiled and led the group back to a small exam room. She told Ryan to wait on the table and left the group in the room alone.

An awkward silence fell in the room for a few minutes; they were each listening for the doctor. Ryan shifted uncomfortably. He sighed softly trying to calm his nerves. "It's almost over," he whispered. Troy squeezed his hand and then let go. He watched the other teenager walk over to the window and raise the blinds with two fingers. He looked outside at the grassy mound of the hill on the other side of the window. Ryan felt better knowing that Troy was a little nerves as well.

"R-dog!" The doctor said when he entered the room. He was a tall lengthy guy with blond hair and a blond beard. He always had a happy grin on his face.

Ryan startled when he entered the room. The doctor had his chart in his hand. He placed the his latest x-ray on against the light giving it a look.

"It looks great R-dog," He said. It always reminded Ryan that he was just a kid in this guy's eyes. "I'll take this cast off, but you have to promise me that you wouldn't do anything strenuous for another week okay?"

"I'm going to Prom this Saturday, is that okay?" Ryan asked.

The doctor punched him in the shoulder and asked, "Who is the lucky girl?"

"I'm taking him," Troy said. He stepped over to the bed standing next to Ryan. He put his hand on the table, his fingers touching Ryan's.

The doctor's smiled less cheerfully but nodded. "It should be fine as long as there is no swing dancing."

"You've never been to an East High dance have you?" Troy asked. Ryan grinned and nodded his agreement. Their school's dances were just like the ones in old musicals. "But we wouldn't be doing any of those."

"Right," Ryan agreed.

The doctor was happy with that answer. He went about cleaning his hands and putting on gloves to get off Ryan's cast. He came over to the table with the instrument he needed. He turned it on and the sound was like a tiny chainsaw. Ryan gulped and looked over at Troy. The other boy took his free hand and held it tight without a word. He gently touched his chin when he tried to look back at what the doctor was doing. It strangely made the whole experience easier, watching Troy instead of the doctor was much better.

"There all done." The doctor said. He grabbed his clipboard and asked Ryan to rotate his wrist and arm a few times, satisfied he said he was free to go. He let Ryan's Mom know that the nurse at the front desk would take care of the bill.

"Let me see," Troy said when they were in the lobby once again. He took Ryan's cast-free hand and lifted it up so that he could exam it. "I was getting used to seeing this thing on you."

"I'm glad it's off," Ryan said with a sigh of relief.

Troy smiled. He wrinkled his nose and leaned forward smelling Ryan's arm, "Me too, that thing needs a wash."

Ryan gave him a hurt look as he protested, "Hey! It was hard enough washing the rest of me with one hand."

"Well I didn't want to say anything…"

The blond fumed a little, although it was all in fun. He hurried into the bathroom in the lobby and began to scrub his arm. It would help a little, enough at least before their tux pick-up. Troy came in the room a little while later, and with a laugh said, "I think I should help you with that."

Ryan squirmed as Troy held his arm down to give it a real scrubbing. When it came back it smelt like public-bathroom soap but it was better then nothing. The two boys grinned at each other brightly, until Ryan's mother walked in.

"Ryan a word with you." She turned around and walked out of the office. Troy and Ryan followed sheepishly behind her. Troy moved over to his truck and Ryan followed his mother.

"What do you think you're doing?" She asked. She was actually mad at Ryan, and he could tell by the tone of her voice. He looked helplessly at her, because he really had no idea what he had done wrong. Maybe he embarrassed her a little, but he and Troy had been quiet so he was not sure. "Are you going to the dance with that Bolton boy?"

"Oh," Ryan sighed in relief. But at the glare his mother gave him he straightened up. "Yes."

"I don't think so Ryan. I saw you get hurt once before. I'm not going to let that happen to my duckie again," She said.

"But Mom," Ryan said with a whine. "You know Troy. You said you liked him. He's not going to…to do anything to me. Please, you can't ruin my Prom like this."

She softened a little and touched his check, a hand on his shoulder. "I do trust him, but not with you. I don't know if I can trust anyone with you again."

"It's just one dance, Mom. We're not, b-boyfriends or anything. I told him I wasn't ready and he said that's okay. I know this is really soon, but I want the rest of my senior year to be good. Troy's not Jack." Ryan turned his eye up on his mother. All of his friends would say that Sharpay knew how to get anything and everything she wanted, but in actuality Ryan was the one who had mastered the art. He just chose to use his skills for good and not evil.

She sighed softly, relenting to her son's wishes. "You will let me know, if you need me?"

"I wouldn't make that mistake again," Ryan agreed. She let him go and kissed him on the cheek, long over being embarrassed about affection from his mother he returned the kiss.

Ryan watched her go before going to join Troy at his truck. He felt a sense of completion. Like he had just finished something big in his life, but he was not sure what that was. Later he would realize that he had stopped being a child and became a man. He did not need his parents in the same was as he did before, instead he needed another person, a companion to fill that space. And Troy was the one sitting next to him in the cab of his truck.

--

He felt a soft warm hand brushing his hair from his forehead. He stirred at the touch. He was not an unruly morning person so he opened his eyes without complaint. Troy was sitting on the side of his bed, his feet on the floor and his upper-body facing him. He smiled up at Troy and leaned into the hand that was still in his hair.

"What are you doing here?" He whispered his voice rough and scratchy from a night of sleeping. It was dark in his room, but he sensed that it was later then he thought.

"It's Saturday. I thought that we could spend lunch and the afternoon together. Then I'll go home so that I can change and you can get pretty, before the limo comes to pick us up. Then it is dinner, dance and the dream suite at the hotel. You up for all of that?" Troy asked. He waggled his brows playfully.

"There's only one problem with that. I'm already beautiful," Ryan joked. His cheeks swelled up from the delighted grin on his face.

Troy smiled too moving his hand to Ryan's cheek. "You are, otherwise I wouldn't have spend an hour watching you sleep." Ryan blushed and tired to turn away, but Troy would not allow it. He blushed even more, he felt so easy for falling for lines like that. Ryan would have said something but he could feel how genuine was being.

"Well, then let me get ready," Ryan wiggled away from Troy and out of the other side of the bed. He was in hot pink silky boxers. He covered his chest with his arms and with a dramatic tone of an actor said, "I'm not decent."

"Let me be the judge of that," was the reply, however Troy did leave him his privacy.

He kicked off his boxers and began searching through his clothes for something casual: designer skinny jeans with high-top sneakers and a light blue polo shirt with a light blue hat. Doing a quick run through of his daily hygiene routine he grabbed his wallet and went downstairs.

He could hear his father talking in a quiet tone, in the entrance way. He strained to listen but he could not pick out even one word. The conversation died when he entered the room. Troy stood with his father a proud smile on his face.

"Ready?" Troy asked after a moment. He stepped forward when Ryan nodded. "Let's go."

He followed Troy to his truck in the driveway. "What did Dad say?" He asked he was out of hearing distance from the front door.

Troy only smiled when they got into the cab of his truck. He turned on the engine and backed out of the driveway. He got to the end of the street before he answered. "He said since I paid for dinner, the tickets, the limo and the tuxes that it was his pleasure to pay for our afternoon out. He gave me his credit card."

Ryan smiled at Troy's glee. He had offered to go halves with him before but Troy insisted that because he had asked he was the one that would pay. It was Sharpay who weaseled the suite from their father. So for Mr. Evans to pay for lunch and the afternoon was a blessing. It meant the he trusted that Troy would show him a good time.

"He also said that after Jack he was afraid that he would never be able to trust another with his boy again, but he knew the minute he saw me at the hospital that he still had someone he could trust." Troy's smile grew even more. "Even before this prom stuff he knew I was a good friend for you."

Ryan smiled too. His father was a good judge of character a good business man had to be, and for Mr. Evans to admit something like that to Troy meant that he truly believed it. Troy stopped the truck in front of a Pho restaurant; they served Vietnamese style food like their beef broth soups, pork chops and vermicelli. The place was modern looking with a dessert display at the front counter and pop music in the background.

Ryan ordered a cafe sua da and Troy an ice tea. Ryan ordered flank streak, tripe and meatballs in his soup, Troy simply got pho tai.

"So where are we going?" Ryan asked. He sniffed as his nose ran from the spicey Sriracha sauce the he add to the soup.

"This probably sounds really lame, but I was thinking about going to the park, feeding the ducks, going on a paddle boat ride, one of those tiny train rides and hit some balls at the batting cages," Troy explained. He blushed a little bit as he added, "I really want to see how you play."

Ryan blushed a little as well, but it was hard to tell because his soup was so spicy. "That sounds like fun Troy. Jack made me sit quietly while he watched hockey games, so he could fool around with me later."

Troy frowned at the mention of Jack. He would have liked it if the pig had never been in Ryan's life, but he was, and he could not truly be forgotten yet, if ever. "Well, I will never _make_ you watch a game with me. I would like it if you did, sometimes, and I would let you talk, but only if: 'It's go Suns!'"

"You only want me to talk if I'm cheering for the team you like?" Ryan raised en eyebrow.

"Oh no, I'm an equal opportunity sort of guy, you can cheer for any team you want." Troy grinned cheekily. "But honestly, unless it's the last five minutes of the game, and the game is really close you can talk all you want. Heck you can talk through the last five minutes just so long as you don't expect me to respond or remember what you said later on."

Ryan laughed at that one. He could agree with that. He did not mind watching a game on television with his lover, as long as he was not being quieted all the time, and ordered around. He also did not care for what was expected of him after a game. Troy was not like that however, and so he did not think it would be an issue.

The rest of lunch went smoothly. They ate quietly mostly, talking a little bit about the end of the year. After the dance they only had a week of actual classes, finals, and then two days of mandatory graduation practice; that was it. They would be done nearly two weeks before the rest of the grades. It would be a well deserved break. Neither of them brought up their plans for the fall.

--

Troy took them to the biggest park in the city. It was on the other side of the city, but it was well worth the trip. The park was huge with so many fun things to do. Since it was a nice May afternoon there were many families at the park.

Ryan did not mind being surrounded by so many people, even children. Unlike most high school students he liked little kids, and he could not wait for the day when he was ready to have some of his own. He never worried about how he would get children of his own; he knew he would have them when the time came.

Troy brought them some feed for the ducks and went over to a quieter area of the lake. They sat on the bench and waited for the ducks to come to them. They did of course, ducks were not all stupid; they knew that they wanted to be around people with food.

The first ducks to visit them was a mama, with a brood of seven. Ryan giggled as the little ones fought over the food that they threw too them. He leaned against Troy, not moving when Troy's arm came around his waist. "I want one."

"A duck?" Troy asked.

"No. A—" He stopped. It was not the best move to reveal future plans. After all many men were afraid of commitment and in Ryan's experience with gay men that number grew.

"What?" Troy prodded Ryan's side. Ryan squirmed because that spot tickled and Troy knew it. "You want little duckies then?"

Ryan nodded his head. "Yes, I want little duckies."

"Then become a doctor with a mean limp and an even meaner personality." Troy smiled. Ryan stared at him not understanding what that had to do with anything. Troy's smile faded. "Have you never seen House? He calls his fellows duckies…well he did, hasn't said that much in a while."

"Oh," Ryan smiled a little. He had seen the show; it just was an uncommon reference. It was a good change of subject though. He was about to continue the change of subject when some more ducks joined them quack loudly. The cygnets scrambled back over to their mother and the mother led them away. Ryan frowned but seeing as this was a big park with lots of people to feed them, he was not too worried about it.

"Almost done?" Troy asked pointing to Ryan's duck feed. He was, although he had not realized it. Ryan tossed the rest at the remaining feed to the ducks and stood up. "Train?"

"Yes!" Ryan said a childish grin on his face. He glanced over at the station at the end of the park. He took off in a sprint, and was not surprised to see Troy trotting beside him a little while later. Ryan frowned at Troy and put on an extra boost of speed. Troy laughed, and pretended to trip. At least Ryan thought he pretended, Troy was still laughing loudly so he did not stop.

He beat Troy to the train by a few minutes. He frowned as he turned around. Troy did not look like he was behind him. He scanned the crowd and looked for him; maybe he had taken a different route in order to scare him. He scanned left first then he looked to the right and found no one.

"This isn't funny, Troy," Ryan said, becoming a little nervous.

"I got the tickets," Troy said coming up behind Ryan. The blond flew around and pushed Troy hard in the chest sending him back to the ground. Troy did not look hurt but he looked a little surprised.

Ryan's eyes grew wide and he was immediately kneeling on the ground next to Troy. "Troy, are you okay? I'm so sorry. I was just so upset that you disappeared like that and I-I…" his eyes widened even more. He suddenly had a flash back of himself in the same position that Troy was in, listening to Jack as he apologize over and over for lashing out at him. It made his stomach churn and immediately he wanted to be sick. He stood and ran away from the crowd by the train station hoping to find a bathroom, but only making it to a big bush. He puked his entire lunch out, and it burned even more coming up then it did going down.

Troy was beside him when he was done. He was hovering but not touching. He was obviously worried but he did not know what to do. Ryan stepped out of arms reach from Troy gulping and turning away. "I-I am just like him. He ruined me. I can never be with another person again. He did this. He made sure the no one would ever come near me again, and it worked."

"Ryan, no, stop it, please. You are not like him." Troy said, he stepped closer but stopped when Ryan backed away again. "You surprised me, you didn't knock me over. Ryan you could never knock me over. You're a twig."

"You're just making excuses!" Ryan exclaimed. He knew people might be able to hear him, but he was not embarrassed.

"I'm not. Do you know how many times Sharpay has slapped or pushed Zeke? Do you know how many times Chad and I have done just the same as you just did to me? You knew from the beginning that the way Jack acted was not the way normal people act. I know that you were acting playful and not aggressive, even if you did it on purpose. And if there ever comes a time where you hit me out of true anger, it still wouldn't be the same. You wouldn't hit me for any reason, you wouldn't abuse me and you would not torture me just to feel some sense of control over me." Troy stepped closer and closer as he spoke, until Ryan was in his arms, still shivering and shaking from before. But he was more relaxed now, more at easy. Troy kissed his cheek, softly, regardless of the park they were in. "If you did any of those things you would not be the man I like so much right now. If you do end up doing any of those things it would not be to me, because I would be gone long before you slipped that far from who you really are."

Ryan let the words sink in and wash over him. They were not his words and he was not sure if they all comforted him, but as a whole they were allowing him to understand what was normal and what was wrong. He rested his head on Troy's shoulder and sighed. He was well aware that there was no one out right staring at the scene that they could have just made. The day was too nice that the boys were overlooked entirely.

"You ready to get on the train?" Troy asked. Ryan agreed, allowing Troy to lead him by hand to the train.

He settled on the inside seat of the kiddy train ride. He kept his eyes on the scenery as they began. The ride was a peaceful transition from the mess he had been a moment ago. Troy sat beside him staring in the opposite direction. Ryan sighed in content, Troy expect so little from him. He wondered if he was blowing his chance to be with him. He could not help that he was not ready for anything more then this.

"I wish you had liked me six months ago," Ryan softly said with a sigh. It was the truth; he would love to erase everything that happened and be Troy's boyfriend.

"I did. I think," Troy said. He turned to look at him with a funny smile on his face. "I think I've had a crush on you for a while. I didn't know it consciously or at least never admitted it. That's why I doubted myself, I thought I was only jealous.

"I might have liked you three years ago, when I saw you perform in our freshman year winter musical. I always liked to sing, but I never wanted to be in a musical until I saw you in one.

"When I was finally in one, I was so wrapped up in Gabriella it distracted me for a while. Then you came out and I…" He paused in his rambling. He looked far away like he was seeing something not there, a memory. Ryan touched his arm with two fingers bringing him back.

"I never knew anyone who was admittedly gay. So before that day I thought of gay people the same way I thought of celebrities. They existed, I know about them, but I don't know any. They had no real meaning in my life.

"It's easy to get caught into the heterosexual mind set that society creates. I never even thought to ask if I was gay, I just assumed I was straight. Before you I never had to question it.

"Then, it was real to me. It was no longer unobtainable. I could start thinking of being gay as something that could be part of my life. I started to think outside of my normal thoughts. And I was thinking about you." Troy sighed. Ryan watched a shadow lift off him. He had just cleared his mind of something big.

"It is true that other people's norms make it hard to see the truth. I'm glad I could help you with all of this, even unknowingly." Ryan smiled; reassuring Troy that he would not laugh at his words.

"How did you know?" Troy asked.

"I never didn't know," Ryan explained. He squeezed his hand around Troy's arm when Troy frowned. "I have a good inner eye, Troy. It helps that my parents never forced anything on me or out of me. I was able to make decision for myself early on."

"So have you been with many others?" Troy asked.

"My first was when I was thirteen. It lasted a week. Jack was my first in over a year. I dated the guy before him for a month or so, he was a skater emo kid who wanted me to get a Prince Albert." Ryan shuddered at the thought. "I had one freshman year turns out he really wanted Sharpay."

"So four?" Troy asked sighing in relief. "I was with four too, Gabs, Jim, Missy and Brian."

Ryan's eyes widened, "You were with the guy that Sharpay replaced me with?"

"Well I…"

"You really have liked me for a while," Ryan interrupted. He stood as the train ride came to a complete stop. They both got off on Troy's side and stood on the same platform they had got on.

"Let's go to the batting cages," Troy offered. He put an arm around Ryan's shoulder and led him to the cages. He brought 40 tokens for each of them and they set about competing on who would get the most hits.

Ryan's bone doctor would kill him if he knew but he was not there. Ryan won by 20 hits. He smiled up at Troy when they finished. "I have to tell you something, Troy."

"What is it?" Troy tilted his head to the side.

"You really stink. Who knew you'd sweat this much from a little hitting practice," Ryan joked with a smile. Troy pretended to laugh. "No, really you need to shower."

"Well, then I guess we should start getting ready for Prom." Troy decided. Even though Ryan did not want the afternoon to end he knew that it was already three. The limo would start to pick up people at five, dinner was at six, the dance started after dinner or at seven, and the suite was after midnight. So they did need to get going.

Troy dropped him off and Ryan ran upstairs into the bathroom. "Oops!"

"Ryan!" Sharpay scolded as he shut the door. He did not know why she insisted on doing her hair in the nude.

He took the spare bathroom and showered completely. He made sure the everywhere was shaved from his face to his balls. He put lotion all over his body and after shave on his face. He dressed in his blue tinted tux complete with a top hat. He took his hat off only to blow his hair dry and put it back on. He brushed his teeth for seven reps of three minutes. He cleaned his ears, used his neti pot, and curled his lashes and dabbed cologne on. He then went to sit on the couch in the living room. He watched his dad watching a basketball game.

"You look pretty," he nodded before tuning out. Ryan sparkled.

When the door rang his mother rushed in behind his dad's couch to answer it. "Don't you boys look handsome?" She gushed. She led them into the living. "I'll get Sharpay."

Ryan giggled when Troy and Zeke's focus hit the game on the television at the same time. In a daze they looped around opposite ends of the couch and sat beside his father. The movement altered his father and he looked first at Troy then at Zeke. His gaze narrowed and he promptly turned off the television.

Troy's gaze found his and he smiled. He stood up and offered Ryan a baby blue boutonniere. He smiled and stood so Troy could put it on. When he was done Ryan looked into Troy's eyes.

"Hold it. I need to talk to you two." Ryan's rather escorted them to the front entrance and lowered his voice. Ryan could not hear it but Troy and Zeke's expressions said everything.

"Daddy," Sharpay scolded from the top of the stairs. She looked like Cinderella; blue gown, diamond necklace, nearly-glass slippers and all. She came downstairs and lent her hand to Zeke where he placed her white corsage. She kissed his cheek and turned to wait for her mother who was coming down with the camera.

"They take picture there Hon," Dad said, but was ignored. One picture was taken of Sharpay, of Ryan, of Sharpay and Ryan, of Zeke and Sharpay, of Ryan and Troy, of Troy and Zeke and one of all four of them. The limo's horn was a blessing for all of the except for Ryan's mother.

"You look good, Ryan," Troy said as he held the door for him. Chad and Taylor were waiting inside.

"Is anyone meeting us for dinner," Ryan asked.

"No. Gabriella, Jason and Kelsi said they would all meet us at the dance," Taylor informed. She had a look on her face that said she was surprised but pleased to be here with the ice princess, her brother, and three jocks.

They went to a nice Steakhouse about ten minute from there. It was a good thing no one joined them because they sat in a booth around a table, that just barely sat everyone comfortably.

After everyone ordered, Chad began a conversation with, "What is everyone doing over the summer?"

"Sleeping," Zeke joked.

"I'm working at the Country Club again," Troy said with a grimace. "Say hello to three months of torture."

"I might take a summer course at the community college," Taylor blushed at the eye roll she received.

"I'm working as a prep cook slash dish washer at Applebee's," Zeke said for real that time. Sharpay gave him a nasty look. "It's good experience."

"I'm only working a little. I want to relax this year," Chad said.

"I'm going to tryout for the Grease—on television casting reality show," Sharpay said. Jaws dropped and Zeke spit water at her in surprise. "Gross." She wiped the water away with her cloth napkin. Everyone knew that she was talking about trying out to make it on a television show that would help cast the Grease Broadway production.

"I just want to get out of here," Ryan said before Sharpay could get really mad. He regretted it at Troy's hurt expression.

"What do you mean?" Chad asked curiously.

"I need a break, a big one. I'm grateful to all of you, but its strenuous having to go back to school everyday. I just want to drive until my car runs out of gas and stay there for the summer." Ryan explained. He could sense the uneasiness and was grateful when their meals came.

Ryan whispered to Troy, when he leaned in to give him a taste of his steak. "You can come with me."

"Yeah?" Troy asked looking surprised. "I would like to go, but I do need to work. I have a scholarship, but that will only pay for school and board I still need money for food, clothes and other entertainment."

"I bet I could get my Dad to pay for the whole trip." Ryan persuaded. "And you could get a job it we do stay in some strange town for 3 months."

Troy held out a rib for Ryan to try as he though. Ryan took a tiny bite, he liked ribs, but he did not like sauce all over his clothes. Troy laughed and wiped sauce on Ryan's cheek.

"Hey!" Ryan pouted. Troy put his rib down and touched Ryan's shoulder with his clean hand. He turned towards Troy and closed his eyes when Troy licked the sauce from his cheek.

"So Troy are you really gay, or are you just being really nice to Ryan," Zeke asked.

"He's gay, Zeke," Chad rolled his eyes because no one would be that nice. Still Zeke looked at Troy.

"I like Ryan a lot," Troy explained. He blushed, a little. "I don't think I'm completely gay though."

"On Kinsky's scale what number are you?" Taylor asked. The looks she received meant that no one knew what she was talking about. "Kinsky was one of the leading advocates when it came to proving that homosexuality was not a mental disorder. His scale is as such: 0 to 6, 0 being completely straight, 6 being completely gay and 1 to 5 falling somewhere in between the two." When Taylor was done everyone was pretending to be asleep.

"No, that's really interesting," Sharpay promised when they all woke up.

"I'm not sure, maybe 1 or 2?" Troy said, unsure since he did not know what factored into the scale.

"Cool," Zeke said. Then he thought better of it, "Can you try not to have sex at the party tonight. I do not want to see that or Sharpay's Dad after that!"

"Gross!" Sharpay agreed.

"Are you planning to have sex in front of all of us and the basketball team, the drama club, the mathletes and the ice skating team?" Chad asked a dark look on his face.

"That's what the bathroom is for," Sharpay explained. "That goes for you two Ryan."

"I'm not going to have sex in a bathroom," Ryan wrinkled his nose. "At least not without the shower on."

"This is going to be an interesting night," Troy said with an already exhausted sigh.

The waiter came by and the girls' ordered desserts. Taylor shared hers and Sharpay gave hers to Zeke when she was done. It was perfect timing, they got to the hotel where the prom was, fifteen minutes late. That meant that Sharpay could make a grand entrance, and the rest of them could sneak in after her.

Troy grabbed Ryan by the cuff of his jacket and pulled him over to the table were Gabriella and Jason sitting. Ryan sat in a comfy chair as Troy greeted Gabriella and went to talk to Jason.

Ryan's gaze followed Troy as his thoughts wandered. He wondered if this was his only chance to be with Troy. Summer would be chaotic and next year Ryan was going to NYU, Troy would be here. Troy was a great guy, but he was still only human. Even if he never cheated they would grow apart and find someone else. Ryan's only hope was to snag Troy now and reel him in. Then one of them might be committed enough by the end of summer to change schools before spring.

Sadly, Ryan was not ready for all of that. His heart was heavy with scars and he needed something light and easy. "Like a dog."

"Who is?" Jason's date asked. He looked over and choked. The blond was a sophomore who had a breast enhancement surgery for her sixteenth birthday, against her general doctor's advice. Now her chest was so huge, she had big huge porn-star boobs. Jason probably invited her in hopes of getting laid.

"Is it true that you were raped…by your own boyfriend?" She asked, after Ryan settled down. He narrowed his eyes on her. He did not want to deal with this tonight. Unfortunately his glare did not have the power of Sharpay's glare. "Well?"

Ryan stared at her for a moment before turning to look in the opposite direction. Gabriella was playing with her fork. "Where is your date, Gabs?"

"Kelsi and I came together, stag," Gabriella peaked up smiling softly. "She is speaking to the DJ about the lighting.

"Oh. I like your dress. It's red." Ryan looked her over. She wore a red gown with a bow in the back and her hair down in curls. "It suits you."

"Thanks Ryan. Umm where is Troy?" She asked. She looked over to where he and Jason used to be. Ryan shrugged. "Do you want to dance? I know you wouldn't step on my toes, and I'm so bored."

"Yes!" Ryan stood. He helped Gabriella up and gave her his arm. He led her to the dance floor the song was fast, hard and rap. Normally it was not Ryan's favorite, but to dance too it was good. He put his hands on her hips and danced like a professional. He moved against her with fluid motions. He would laugh at anyone who told him that white boys could not dance.

The next song was a slow ballad and she wrapped her arms around his neck. They continued to dance.

Midway through she leaned in and said, "I regret it."

"What?" Ryan asked not stilling.

"Breaking his heart, leaving him, I regret that. I can see what you're thinking. What about next year or the year after, can we last?" Gabriella explained. She leaned her head on Ryan's shoulder and he felt more then heard, "but what about now?"

"You sound like a Chris D. song," Ryan joked. He laughed only a little.

"Maybe, but it's true. You are not doing him a favor by planning ahead. You need to hold on to what you have now and appreciate it for what it is worth. If I could I would take it back what I did that day, or even return to him, but I don't think that he's willing to give me his heart like that again. My time with him was cut short, by me.

"I see the way he is with you and the way he looks at you when you don't notice; he would give you his heart if you wanted it. Ryan, I don't want you to regret this chance. I understand that this is not the best time for you, but if you just open up a little more, and don't think of the what-if-futures so much, he'll be happy.

"Don't worry about me either. I hurt now but it's true that I don't have feelings for him anymore. We would not have lasted this long, and the regret wouldn't last long either." Gabriella smiled at Ryan. She wanted the best for Troy. She still cared about him in some way. Ryan could be 'the best for Troy' and she was only trying to help them.

"Is this why they call you a brain?" He squeezed her hip gently. "I'll try my best. I don't know how long he'll wait."

"Troy? He'll wait for a long time if you ask him to. But if you give him that hope just make sure you're willing to give him something real in the end." Gabriella said.

"He's not someone I'm spending time with because I need a rebound boy until I'm ready to go back to the real thing. His timing is just really, really bad." Ryan smiled a soft contemplating smile. Maybe he would open up to Troy a little more and explain exactly what was going on in his head right then. If Troy liked him as much as he said he did that should be enough for now.

"Gabriella!" Taylor broke them apart, hugging her. "You look amazing."

"Hey, Ryan," Chad said as he broke through the crowd to stand beside his girlfriend. "Can I talk to you for a second?"

He nodded. Chad took his arm gently and led him back to the table. He sat him down in the same seat as before, and sat next to him. Jason's date looked at them with a dull expression. Chad shrugged her off and leaned into him. "I know this is going to sound weird, seeing as you're coming off a bad relationship and all, but I don't want you hurting Troy. I know him, and I know he would never hurt anyone intentionally. He would rather suffer quietly instead of doing that. So I just want to make sure that you realize that Troy is really delicate."

"Troy?" Ryan suppressed the grin that threatened, at being lectured by Chad.

"Yes. When Gabriella broke up with him he was a mess. But it would be nothing compared to what he would be like if you strung him along and left him before he even had a chance. I'm a reasonable guy, Ryan, I don't expect you to not get in fights, and I know there is the possibility that this wouldn't work out. That's all fine, but if your intent is to not even get started, then I think you shouldn't see Troy after tonight. He would be devastated. He's had a crush on you for a while now, and I can't image how it would feel for him to be so close to you only to have it ripped away."

Chad was really serious, and Ryan shifted uncomfortably. Then he took a deep calming breath and placed a hand on Chad's upper arm. "That's not my intention. Although it may look like that, I am just easing my way into this thing with Troy. I don't want things to happen too fast that I wake up one morning and find myself drowning. I'm not ready for the pressures of a relationship right now, but I do like Troy."

"Well, that's all I ask. Troy is more patient then I have even been, and he'll be fine with that. But if you want my advice, you two should set an in-or-out date. Set a date in the future not too far, that you will decide if you want in a relationship or out. If you're not ready by that time, you may never be." Chad said. He stood up and stretched on his toes looking around the dance floor. He brightened when he spotted who he was looking for and started off.

"Chad wait!" Ryan called. The other boy turned around and looked at him. "Where is Troy?"

"He's with the nominees for Prom King and Queen." Chad explained. He waved Ryan away and headed out to the dance floor.

"You're an idiot you know," Jason's date snarled. "If Troy Bolton is interested in you, you should be on your back with your legs spread open."

"Oh yeah, he's getting laid tonight," he mumbled. He brightened when Kelsi came to the table sitting next to him. "How did it go?"

"No good. He said that it's a dance so the floor and the room are supposed to be basically dark," Kelsi rolled her eyes. She handed him a cup of punch and drank hers in on gulp.

He did the same and choked. "Kelsi that is spiked!"

"It is? Do you want another?" Kelsi asked getting up to get some more punch.

"Ryan can you watch my shoes?" Sharpay asked handing the slippers to him. Gabriella was behind her with her own shoes, and it was not long until several other girls put their shoes under his table.

He sighed and leaned against it. "Now I'm alone and it smells like sweaty feet."

"Sorry," Troy said. Ryan turned around to see him standing behind him. "I was busy with Prom Royalties. Do you want to dance?"

Ryan's eyes widened. He knew many of the girls had no problem dancing together, and a group of two couples sometimes danced close enough that it was hard to tell who was with who, but to dance together and alone, it was basically unheard of. "Yes!"

"Okay," Troy smiled and pushed some of the shoes away to help Ryan up from the table. He could see Jason doing the same with his date from the corner of his eyes.

Troy took Ryan out to the dance floor, and then he looked a little nervous. "I don't dance well."

Ryan put Troy's hands on his hips and he swayed them back and forth. He pressed up against him and wrapped his arms around Troy's neck. He had Troy moving to the beat easily within the first song and by the second Troy was confined enough that they were rubbing together, touching and grinding like they were professionals.

One song melted into another and before long Ryan's feet and calves ached, so did his face from smiling so much. The music quieted then and the class president took the stage to announce the winners for prom king and queen.

It was no surprise that Troy won; he was the most well known and well liked guy in school. It was also no surprised that Sharpay won, either. She was the most well known and scary girl at school. As tradition the two had a spotlight dance. Ryan did not mind. He knew his sister was no longer interested in Troy and even if she did she was not so cruel to stand between him and Troy.

When the dance was over, everyone went back to their own partners. Troy smiled softly and tilted his head, "Do you want to take a walk?"

"Sure," Ryan said, some fresh air would be nice, plus he would be able to be alone with Troy, and hopefully he could explain what he was feeling to him.

"You've been thinking tonight," Troy said with a smile. He slipped his hand in Ryan's and led him to the Hotel's courtyard. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Dancing with you did distract me from my thoughts, but it's hard to escape them completely," Ryan admitted with a blush. He sat down on a cooling bench and Troy sat next to him. "It seems like everyone wants to give me advice tonight. Both Chad and Gabriella had some interesting things to say."

Troy wrinkled his nose a little, tilting his head in confusion. "They did?"

"Chad wants to make sure I don't hurt you, and I think Gabriella wants the same thing." Ryan explained. He let go of Troy's hands and rubbed his sweaty palms on his pants. "There has been something more on my mind though. Am I blowing this?"

"What?" Troy asked, letting his gaze fall on a flowering bush on the other side of the courtyard, to make it easier on Ryan.

Ryan's gaze wandered too. There was a huge fountain in the middle of the courtyard, a few grassy lawns and trees and flowers all along the walls of the enclosed courtyard. It was cliché but nice.

"Ryan?" Troy brought him back to his thoughts. His gaze was on his again and Ryan realized that he had stalled.

"Am I blowing this chance I have with you? I would like nothing more to fall into your arms Troy and forget about everything, but that's unlikely. I need time to help me forget and I don't think entering into a relationship with you is very fair considering all of that," Ryan explained a little bit more.

"We already talked about this right? You need to wait, and I know that. I don't mind waiting for you." He slipped his hand on top of Ryan's squeezing it gently.

"I don't know how long this will take, weeks most likely, and then what does that leave us a few more weeks before we're on opposite sides of the country," Ryan bit his lip and turned his head trying to keep his emotions from showing too much.

Troy squeezed his hand and brought it up to his lips kissing it softly. "Ryan, I have thought about that, a little at least. And I know it's really difficult to maintain a relationship from that distance, and normally I wouldn't enter into a serious relationship with that hanging overhead. But the thought of not even attempting to be with you made my stomach churn and my knees weak. I'm willing to do anything to make this work with us Ryan. I _really_ like you."

"I like you too," Ryan admitted that. He turned to look at Troy bringing his free hand to Troy's cheek. "Chad said that we should make an in-or-out date, and I think we should try it. I feel like I can be ready to slowly, very slowly make this into something serious in a few weeks, but until then I just want a break from anything that takes work. I just want to be myself for a little while. So I think that by June 21st whether I'm completely ready or not, we should start dating."

"Are you sure? Chad has a messed up head, so some of his ideas seem good at the time, but they're really not. I don't want you doing anything you're not ready for," Troy said.

"I will be ready Troy. I don't want to build a wall so big and so thick that I can't leap it when the time comes. I need to run head long into this some time or I'll never get back into the swing of things." Ryan knew his words were cliché but that was how he was best able to express himself right now.

"Ryan, I don't think you have to worry about that being a problem. Just over this weekend we went from being each other's escort to the dance, to holding hands, kissing and flirting. I think if we just continue on this road everything will evolve on its own. Unless you don't want me kissing you anymore?" Troy asked a worried look on his face.

"No! I don't mind that. Those kisses and touches they're light and easy. There is nothing more to those kisses then what they already are." Ryan leaned over to prove his words with actions kissing Troy's lips softly before pulling away. "I think, I see what you are trying to say. You want to just let nature take its course."

"If that's what you're comfortable with. I don't want to rush or pressure you into anything. I don't want you to resent me later on," Troy replied.

"I couldn't," Ryan admitted.

"Good," Troy replied.

Ryan could feel a comfortable silence fall over them. Everything felt a little better now. He could be around Troy and not feel like he was messing everything up. He would be able to find peace in the coming weeks. His relationship with Troy would come from a new fresh start, and not a horribly awful end.

"I think we should make this official some how. Like have some sort of symbol that binds our promise for the future," Troy said. He winced a little, and then corrected himself. "I'm not trying to turn this into a commitment. I just think this moment calls for a reward or a ring."

"I could go with that," Ryan said. He knew what Troy meant. The symbol would represent their understanding and hope for the future nothing more. "What did you have in mind?"

"Will you kneel before me and take off your hat?" Troy asked a playful smile on his face. Ryan did as he was told kneeling on his left knee and putting his hat under his arm. "I, King Troy, of the prom ball, crowns you, Sir Ryan, son of Evans, as Prince Ryan. In time after you've served your princely duties, you will become King Ryan and rule by my side as we travel the country, on our summer road trip."

"Are you serious?" Ryan said, but blushed when he realized that Troy was taking this crowning very seriously. So he lowered his head and Troy placed his crown on Ryan's head. When he was done the blond looked up at him. "I don't have anything like this for you."

"Well, you look better with a crown anyway. It runs in your blood, I think," Troy said with a smile. He opened up his arms and gestured for Ryan. "How about you just seal this with a kiss?"

He did not have to be asked again. He pressed his lips to Troy's and melted into his arms. While he wrapped his own around him. He knew if Troy kept up with things like this, that he would be dating Troy by the beginning of summer.

--

The End.

--

_A/N: I was going to put the party in to it, but this felt more like an ending plus I just couldn't think of anything exciting other then drunk people falling on each other. I hope you liked this. I am thinking about a sequel, but it might take some time because as of now there is no conflict to it so there really is no point._

_On another note, I read somewhere briefly that Ryan (and Sharpay) was born in Italy? Is this true? If it is I want to outline a story about Ryan's father owing the Italian Mafia lots of money, so they take Ryan and free him from his debt. It only really works if Ryan was born in Italy. Also, in the fic Ryan will be a sex slave/Mafia member for the Mafia, so I'm wondering how old he should be. I think he should be a teenager at least, or maybe younger like twelve, to start. I just started thinking about this idea today, and while I was thinking, I realized that Ryan has to some how get back to the rest of the characters otherwise it's not really an HSM fic just a fic about a kid named Ryan that looks like him and acts like him. So I was thinking that the Mafia has business to take care of at East High so the now trained Mafia member/sex slave is returned to his parents. I'm still working this one out, but I could see it being a new fic eventually._

_I also had a plot bunny idea if anyone wanted to write it. I heard on the News the other day that a study in the BC found that Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual teens are more likely to get or cause a pregnancy. One of the reasons this happens is because gay teens will enter into a more promiscuous heterosexual relationship to keep people from knowing that they're gay. Another reason was that lesbian and bisexual girls don't want to be labeled so they get pregnant to take the focus off of them being lesbians or bisexuals. So I was thinking that one or more of the general couples could have one or more gay, lesbian, or bisexual teens among them and they get/cause a pregnancy. Maybe have a completely het couple in there that isn't pregnant? I like to base some of my fics off of weird facts like this._

_That was a long author's note, but this will be the last one for this fic so I guess that's okay! Thanks for reading and review to everyone that did, and thanks for reading to all those lurkers (which I tend to be one). But just so you know if you review me I tend to go to your profile page and read/review your fics! And I'm always looking for good fics to read, so please review, or at least favorite the fic cause I look at those too!_


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